Punjab Kings covered all bases during the two-day mega auction ahead of the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League. The Punjab franchise roped in star players like Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, and Shahrukh Khan among others during the event in Bengaluru, completing the maximum limit of 25 players in the squad.
The side had retained Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh ahead of the auction, and with the addition of Shikhar Dhawan to the roster, speculations are rife over the team’s new captain ahead of the upcoming season.
Shahrukh Khan Backs Experienced Shikhar Dhawan To Lead Punjab Kings In IPL 2022
Shahrukh Khan, who had represented the Punjab Kings in the 2021 edition and was brought back by the franchise in the auction, revealed his choice for the leadership role in the franchise. When asked to pick between Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan, the young all-rounder chose the latter.
“I would say Shikhar Dhawan, because he has so much experience. He has a different aura and he has a very dynamic personality,” Shahrukh Khan said in a mid-auction show on Star Sports.
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 crore in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction. A bidding war for Shahrukh Khan took place between Chennai Super Kings, Punjab, and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Punjab Kings Coach Anil Kumble Satisfied With New Players Acquisitions
Punjab Kings head coach Anil Kumble was extremely satisfied with the new players, including Liam Livingstone and Odean Smith, coming to his franchise during the IPL 2022 auction, the dynamics of which were “very different and challenging”.
“There is absolutely more demand than supply, but I guess there were challenges because there were 10 teams and it was different,” Kumble said.
“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.”
“The auction dynamics are very very different and you have to be nimble and that is something we realised in the last one and half days. You have to be even more nimble during this auction then the previous ones.”
While Punjab Kings retained opener, Mayank Agarwal, for Rs 12 crore, the Karnataka batter doesn’t have much leadership experience. Punjab Kings went all out to buy Shikhar Dhawan for Rs 8.25 crore, pipping the likes of Delhi Capitals during the IPL 2022 mega auction. Punjab Kings are on the hunt for a new captain since KL Rahul decided to shift base to Lucknow Super Giants.
Purchased players: Shikhar Dhawan ( ₹8.25 crore), Kagiso Rabada ( ₹9.25 crore), Jonny Bairstow ( ₹6.75 crore), Rahul Chahar ( ₹5.25 crore), Harpreet Brar ( ₹3.8 crore), Shahrukh Khan ( ₹9 crore), Prabhsimran Singh ( ₹60 lakh), Jitesh Sharma ( ₹20 lakh), Ishan Porel ( ₹3.8 crore), Liam Livingstone ( ₹11.5 crore), Odean Smith ( ₹6 crore), Sandeep Sharma ( ₹90 lakh), Raj Angad Bawa ( ₹2 crore), Rishi Dhawan ( ₹55 Lakh), Prerak Mankad (20 Lakh ), Vaibhav Arora ( ₹2 Crore), 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)