Punjab Kings have lost a lot ahead of IPL 2022’s mega auction. They failed to convince their captain and main player KL Rahul to stay at the club and many other of their star players have also left the side which led them to retain only two players from their original squad. However, this has also given them a great advantage as they now have the biggest remaining purse among any other teams and they might filter out the very best players in to rejuvenate their team.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) Retentions: Mayank Agarwal (12 crore, 14 crore to be deducted from purse), Arshdeep Singh (4 crore)
Balance purse: Rs 72 crore
Although the problem with KL Rahul was that he did not at all want to stay at the franchise, the problem with the other players was different. For example, many uncapped players did not want to be retained as then the maximum amount that they would be getting was 4 crore whereas they can be sold for a lot more in the Auction. Therefore it is highly likely that PBKS will go after some of their old players that they could not retain earlier.
Let us now have a look at 3 players who can comeback to Punjab Kings after the auction:-
- Ravi Bishnoi – The 21-year old mystery spinner is nothing less than a child prodigy. He was just 19 when he came to PBKS and he showed marks of greatness at that young age itself. Ravi Bishnoi picked up 12 wickets in just 9 matches in IPL 2021 and the same number of wickets in 14 matches in the year before that. In 2020, his average economy was 7.37 in which he made significant improvement in 2021. In IPL 2021, his average economy was 6.34. Ravi Bishnoi has been incredible in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well.
- Nicholas Pooran – The West Indies power hitter might not have been in the best of his forms in the 2021 IPL but in the season before that, he was simply sensational. Pooran scored 353 runs in just 14 matches in IPL 2020 which is a daunting number. Yes, his number dropped significantly in IPL 2021 but that does not rule out the fact that he has an awesome potential. If found for a cheap price, PBKS might try getting him back.
- Mohammad Shami – This man needs no introduction. Mohammad Shami is undoubtedly one of the best pacers in India currently and we all know what he is capable of. His bids are likely to go very high in IPL 2022’s auction and Punjab Kings will definitely bid for their former man. For the last three seasons of IPL, Mohammad Shami has been consistently picking up 19+ wickets per season.
