New Delhi, December 19: India opener K L Rahul was on Thursday named captain of the Kings XI Punjab franchise for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League.

"We are happy to appoint Rahul as our captain for the upcoming season. He has been through a lot in the last year or so and has now come back strongly," KXIP co-owner Ness Wadia told PTI on the day of the IPL auction in Kolkata.

"He has silenced his critics. You will get to see his ability not just as a batsman but also as a captain. He was our unanimous choice," he added. IPL 2020: Dinesh Karthik Will Remain KKR Captain, Confirms Brendon McCullum.

KXIP had bought Rahul for a whopping Rs 11 crore ahead of the 2018 season.

Rahul's ascendancy to captaincy was expected after Ravichandran Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals last month.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)