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Semi-finalists the first year and fifth in the second edition, Punjab have performed consistently, always stumbling at a crucial juncture. They started poorly in the first edition, but then strung together five consecutive wins thanks to Shaun Marsh. In the second season, they were tied with Deccan Chargers on 14 points but their Net Run Rate wasn't good enough to take them through. A force to reckon with, Punjab will be looking to set things straight this time around.

Towards that end they have appointed the astute Kumar Sangakkara as the new captain in place of Yuvraj Singh.

There were rumours of Hero Honda buying a stake in the Punjab franchise but the Punjab players would've been pleased to discover that the rumour was, well, only a rumour and they'll still get to hug Preity Zinta at the end of the match (depending on the result of course).

Strengths: Punjab don't have many big names in their squad but coach Tom Moody has ensured that they have a well-balanced squad. Marsh, Katich, Sangakkara and Yuvraj form a formidable top-order backed by Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Many people might think of Katich as a dour test batsman, but he's shown he's capable of being successful with good results in the KFC Big Bash T20 tournament. Ravi Bopara was impressive in his first season and will have a vital role to play. Karan Goel showed he was quite handy with the bat when given the license as well.

Weaknesses: Punjab's bowlers haven't lived up to their reputations yet. Their bowling line-up looks strong on paper but their bowlers seem to have more bad days than good ones. Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla have all showed glimpses of brilliance but flattered to deceive on other occasions. Both Pathan and Chawla have been guilty of bowling way too short and at their pace, it allows batsmen ample time to punish them. VRV Singh too has been too erratic. If the bowlers can get their act together, Punjab can be assured of a good showing this time around.

Players to watch out for:

Yuvraj Singh: Arguably one of the cleanest hitters of the cricket ball, Yuvraj Singh is Punjab's most vital player. Yuvraj has been out of action for a while now because of his wrist injury, meaning he will be fresh at the start of the season. With the burden of captaincy no longer there, it seems likely that Yuvraj will perform up to his potential, something we only saw glimpses of in the past two seasons. One must not forget that Yuvraj has been very successful with the ball as well - he is the only bowler to have taken two hat-tricks in the IPL. Add to that his excellent fielding and it's quite obvious why he will be the cynosure of all eyes when Punjab take the field.

Yusuf Abdullah: Abdullah was a late addition to the Punjab team in the 2009 edition but surprised everyone with his performance. Short and stout, Abdullah isn't really the typical fast bowler but has all the weapons in his arsenal. Yorker, slower deliveries, bouncers - Abdullah bowls them all. He was the only bowler from Punjab last season to have picked up two four-wicket hauls and it will be interesting to see if Abdullah can replicate his success on Indian wickets.

Key Players' Timelines:

Players	Available from	No. of matches they will play
James Hopes	15th March	13 (will miss 1)
Simon Katich	2nd April	7 (will miss 7)