Punjab Kings is only one of the two franchises apart from Royal Challengers Bangalore who has not announced their captain’s name yet.
Punjab Kings, led by KL Rahul in the past couple of seasons, will be without the wicketkeeper batter as he parted ways with the franchise and has joined Lucknow Super Giants before IPL 2022 mega auctions.
Punjab Kings Set To Appoint Mayank Agarwal As Skipper
Mayank Agarwal, who was retained by the franchise ahead of the auction, is all set to become the next captain of Punjab Kings for the upcoming season. A formal announcement is expected soon.
“In all likelihood, Mayank will captain the side. The announcement is expected later this week,” an IPL source said.
Punjab Kings went into the IPL 2022 auction with the maximum purse and did smart business in the mega event as they acquired some talented players with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada, besides buying back left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar and explosive Tamil Nadu batter Shahrukh Khan.
Shikhar Dhawan was the first name to be called out in the IPL auction on Saturday and Punjab Kings spent ₹8.25 crore to secure his services. The left-handed India opener represented the Delhi Capitals between 2019-2021 and was also the skipper of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise during the 2013 and 2014 seasons of the tournament.
Shahrukh Khan, meanwhile, was acquired by Punjab Kings for ₹9 crores in the IPL 2022 mega auction. A bidding war for Shahrukh Khan took place between Chennai Super Kings, Punjab, and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Punjab Kings Was Keen On Appointing Mayank Agarwal As Captain Ever Since KL Rahul Parted Ways With Franchise
Shikhar Dhawan’s name as captain was also doing the rounds but the management was keen on Mayank Agarwal as the leader even before the auction.
“Dhawan is a welcome addition to the side and was always on the radar at the auction. He is a champion player but it seems Punjab were keen on Mayank as captain ever since KL Rahul left the team,” the source added.
Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul formed one of the most prolific opening pairs in the IPL over the past couple of years. KL Rahul will lead Lucknow Super Giants this season.
Mayank Agarwal had captained the team briefly last year when KL Rahul was injured. Mayank Agarwal aggregated 400-plus runs in the past two seasons. He had made his IPL debut in 2011 and has so far played 100 games. The 31-year-old has also played 19 Tests and five ODIs for India.
Mayank Agarwal smashed an unbeaten 99 runs in 58 balls on his captaincy debut but Punjab Kings lost that game in IPL 2021 against Delhi Capitals. He has played 47 games for Punjab Kings so far and amassed 1317 runs averaging 29.7 with 1 ton and 8 fifties.
With a strong squad at their disposal, Punjab Kings are aiming to end their title drought in the IPL. Their only final appearance came way back in 2014. They finished sixth out of eight teams in the last three editions.
Purchased players: Shikhar Dhawan ( ₹8.25 crores), Kagiso Rabada ( ₹9.25 crores), Jonny Bairstow ( ₹6.75 crores), Rahul Chahar ( ₹5.25 crores), Harpreet Brar ( ₹3.8 crores), Shahrukh Khan ( ₹9 crores), Prabhsimran Singh ( ₹60 lakh), Jitesh Sharma ( ₹20 lakh), Ishan Porel ( ₹3.8 crores), Liam Livingstone ( ₹11.5 crores), Odean Smith ( ₹6 crores), Sandeep Sharma ( ₹90 lakh), Raj Angad Bawa ( ₹2 crores), Rishi Dhawan ( ₹55 Lakh), Prerak Mankad (20 Lakh ), Vaibhav Arora ( ₹2 Crores), Writtick Chatterjee ( ₹20 Lakh), Baltej Dhanda ( ₹20 Lakh), Ansh Patel ( ₹20 Lakh), Nathan Ellis ( ₹75 Lakh), Atharva Taide ( ₹20 Lakh), Bhanuka Rajapaksa ( ₹50 Lakh), Benny Howell ( ₹40 Lakh)