Ahead of IPL auction 2021, Kings XI Punjab Opts for a name change

Ahead of the mini-auction, Kings XI Punjab has decided to change the name and logo of the franchise. The announcement was made on Wednesday evening. In the same, the team announced its new name as "Punjab Kings".  

There were feelers in regards to brand change for the franchisee for a while now but it only became official on Wednesday. The Punjab Kings is led by K L Rahul and is gearing for IPL 2021 with full vigour. While Bollywood actress Preity Zinta has become the face of the Punjab-based franchise, the other co-owners include Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, and Karan Paul.

 Kings XI Punjab CEO Satish Menon in conversation with PTI said, "Punjab Kings is a more evolved brand name, and we understand it was a right time for us to move focus on the core brand itself. The change in brand identity is not about changing our brand ethos but celebrating our one-ness as we stand in a unit like a family. The new logo honors the liveliness and vibrancy of the brand and provides modern elements, while we stand out from rest of the teams".

The team has never lifted the IPL cup to date. Kings XI Punjab, which is now known as Punjab Kings has a remaining purse of 53.2 Crores. This is the biggest purse that any IPL team has in the season. They also have nine slots to fill in the auction that will be starting in a few hours from now.  

The players retained by Punjab Kings include KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, M Ashwin, Harpreet Brar, Darshan Nalkande, Chris Jordan, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Prabhsimran Singh.

The IPL mini-auction will take place today at 3:00 pm in Chennai. It will be live-streamed on Star Sports network.