IPL 2022 Auction: Decoding the squad of Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings (PBKS) retained just two players following yet another disastrous Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign in 2021. The two retained players by PBKS are Mayank Agarwal (Rs. 12 crore) and Arshdeep Singh (Rs. 4 crore). They entered the 2022 mega auction with the biggest purse of Rs. 72 crore and hoped to rebuild their squad from the scratch. Here we decode PBKS' squad.
A look at PBKS' complete squad: Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapakse, Benny Howell
PBKS snapped Shikhar Dhawan for Rs. 8.25 crore. They shelled out Rs. 9.25 crore for Kagiso Rabada. PBKS spent Rs. 6.75 crore for Jonny Bairstow. They bought Shahrukh Khan for Rs. 9 crore and spent Rs. 5.25 crore for Rahul Chahar. PBKS purchased Odean Smith for a hefty sum of Rs. 6 crore. They signed Liam Livingstone for a whopping Rs. 11.50 crore
Mayank can lead PBKS during IPL 2022. He made his captaincy debut for Punjab last season against Delhi Capitals after KL Rahul was ruled out. Mayank scored an unbeaten 99 runs but Punjab lost the game. He scored 314 runs in 12 games at 40.09 in 2021. Dhawan is another captaincy option for PBKS. He has amassed 5,783 runs in IPL in 192 games.
Punjab Kings squad look sold on paper. They have a perfect opening duo in Dhawan and Bairstow and a genuine pacer in Rabada. Rahul Chahar and Harpreet will also add to Punjab's bowling depth. Harpreet is also an able batter who could come in handy in the lower order. Shahrukh is a proven performer with the bat. Livingstone and smith are terrific additions.
Probable XI of PBKS: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Raj Bawa, Prabhsimran Singh, Odean Smith, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada.
