Kings XI Punjab have named Indian off-spinner R Ashwin as the man to lead the franchise, which has a new-look team for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League.

Ashwin, who played for Rising Pune Supergiant in the 10th season, was not retained or bought back by his original franchise Chennai Super Kings, paving the way for his move to the Mohali-based team.

Ashwin, regarded as a thinking cricketer by the Indian team management, gets the chance to captain at the highest level for the first time and has been picked ahead of the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Axar Patel.

“There was also talk in the management about making Yuvraj captain. Yuvraj is a great friend, but in cricketing matters, you keep friendships aside and we all felt Ashwin will be a great leader for us,” KXIP mentor Virender Sehwag was quoted as saying.

“I feel honoured to be trusted with the responsibility of leading such a talented bunch of cricketers,” said Ashwin, “I am confident of bringing out the best out of team mates. This is indeed a proud moment for me.”

He also put to rest any questions regarding his ability to balance the pressures of captaincy with those of being one of the main strike bowlers of the team.

“There is no additional pressure on me as such. I first led my state side in first class cricket when I was 21. I have done it in the past and I am sure that I will enjoy the challenge,” said the spinner.

Ashwin has said he will be anything but predictable as a captain.

Under Glenn Maxwell’s captaincy, a string of four defeats in the first half last year heavily hurt the Kings XI’s play-off chances and a second wind was insufficient to push them into the top half of the table. KXIP are one of the three original IPL franchises yet to win the title.

Here’s the Kings XI Punjab squad for the upcoming season.

Total players: 21

Overseas players: 7

Batsmen: Aaron Finch (o), Chris Gayle (o), David Miller (o), KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Tiwary.

All-rounders: Manzoor Dar, Axar Patel, Akshdeep Nath, Marcus Stoinis (o), Mayank Dagar, Yuvraj Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin.

Bowlers: Ben Dwarshuis (o), Ankit Rajpoot, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Zadran (o), Pardeep Sahu, Mohit Sharma, Andrew Tye (o).