Punjab Kings (PBKS) had a fabulous time at the mega auction ahead of the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they were able to put together a strong squad featuring some of the biggest hitters in the modern T20 game. PBKS came with the biggest purse out of the 10 teams (INR 72 crore) and used it to the fullest effect as not just the overseas players, the 2014 finalists were able to get some of the experienced Indian players as well.
PBKS were one of the three teams, that came searching for a captain in the auction. While the Kolkata Knight Riders have named Shreyas Iyer as their new skipper ahead of the 15th edition of the cash-rich league, the Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore are yet to name the skipper for their respective sides.
Former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar opined that he would have the opening batsman Mayank Agarwal as the captain of the Punjab side, who was one of the two pre-auction retentions for the franchise.
However, Tamil Nadu hard-hitter Shahrukh Khan, who was bought backs by PBKS at the mega auction for a huge sum of INR 9 crore was of a view that the experienced left-hander Shikhar Dhawan should be the captain of the side,
Speaking on Star Sports mid-auction, Shahrukh had said, “I would say Shikhar Dhawan [should be the captain of PBKS], because he has so much experience. He has a different aura and he has a very dynamic personality.”
Not just Shahrukh, the PBKS middle-order features some of the biggest hitters of the game including Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone and Odean Smith. While Dhawan was their first purchase of the auction, Kings followed it up with another marquee signing in pacer Kagiso Rabada.
PBKS coach Anil Kumble expressed his satisfaction after the two-day marathon auction while conceding that this was the most challenging one even though he has been a part of a few previous auctions in the past.
“I have been in couple of big mega auctions in 2011, 2014 and smaller auctions before this auction. This one has been really, really different and more challenging because every player, that whoever is going for, is going for a large sum of money, so the purse is dwindling no matter what value you have in your purse,” Kumble said.
