Lot of foreign options, lack of Indian options, lot of captain changes and no trophy. Will Punjab finally live upto their tagline #SaddaPunjab?
Punjab Kings was not so much involved in the mini auction that happened in December 2023. Ahead of the auction, they released Shahrukh Khan whom they kept with themselves for three years. Though they tried to get him back, they lost him to Gujarat Titans in an intense battle.
Highlights of the auction for them was Harshal Patel who they bought after defeating Gujarat at first and finally Lucknow Supergiants. Their high bid to include Rilee Rossouw was a bit surprising as they already have many foreigners to choose from.
Probable Playing XI of PBKS-
Shikhar Dhawan (C)
Prabhsimran Singh
Jonny Bairstow ✈️
Liam Livingstone✈️
Jitesh Sharma (WK)
Sikandar Raza✈️
Sam Curran✈️
Rishi Dhawan/Harpreet Brar
Harshal Patel
Rahul Chahar
Arshdeep Singh
Impact player - Vidhwath Kaverappa
Lack of enough prominent Indian batsmen may cause PBKS not able to field foreign bowling options like Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis & Chris Woakes simultaneously. Sikandar Raza due to his batting abilities may get nod ahead of above mentioned pace bowlers, alongside Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone and a certain Sam Curran.
Likes of Atharva Taide has shown good promise with the bat in the past, and if he can do good with bat, Raza can make way for Rabada, Ellis or Woakes to add another dimension to their bowling attack.
Experienced Arshdeep Singh and Rahul Chahar may find the perfect foil in Harshal Patel to make PBKS bowling attack a potent one, with Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar doing the rest of the business with the ball.
Form of captain Shikhar Dhawan will be crucial for them, as the PBKS captain has not played any kind of competitive cricket since the conclusion of IPL 2023.
PBKS squad for 2024-
Batsmen - Shikhar Dhawan, Rilee Rossouw, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Shivam Singh, Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma
All rounders - Liam Livingstone, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Brar, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Chris Woakes, Tanay Thyagarajan
Bowlers - Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel
Wicket Keepers - Jonny Bairstow, Jitesh Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh
