We’re in that part of the year where each and every cricket fan, not only from India, but all over the world would be waiting . The richest T20 league in the globe is all set to begin its 15th edition despite all the Covid-19 scare going around the country.
To make it even more special , a Mega Auction will be conducted this time . Its totally different and bigger than the usual mini auction which is conducted every year . This is the 5th Mega Auction since the inauguration of this league as it will be held only once in 3 years .
PREVIOUS MEGA AUCTIONS :
2008
2011
2014
2018
MEGA AUCTION DETAILS :
A whooping 1214 players registered for the event initially in which more than half of them are rejected. And 49 players opted themselves to feature in the marquee list which is now shortlisted to 10.
DATE : 12th and 13th February
VENUE : Bengaluru
TIME : 11 AM IST
TOTAL PLAYERS : 590
INDIANS : 370
OVERSEAS : 220
MARQUEE PLAYERS : 010
CAPPED : 228
UNCAPPED : 355
ASSOCIATE PLAYERS : 007
TEAM PREVIEW :
Punjab Kings ( formerly known as Kings XI Punjab ) is one of the three franchises which is yet to win a trophy . Well watching them bidding in the Auction table is way more fun and interesting than watching them play . Because after each and every Auction you feel that this time they have got everything sorted out . But at end of the tournament they would have stuck in the middle of the points table .
2014 (Finalists) was the only season where they got their things together but with the same squad they failed badly in the next two seasons . Not only their fans but even their players don’t know what’s coming against them from the management . You just need one bad season to get dropped . Traditionally the Punjab franchise are meant to spend a lot during the Auctions and this time we guess there won’t be any changes in their approach considering they have the maximum purse amount among all the other nine teams .
RETENTIONS :
Mayank Agarwal ( 12 crores )
Arshdeep Singh ( 4 crores )
BIG DROPS :
KL Rahul (wanted to move from the franchise)
Shahrukh Khan
Mohammed Shami
MONEY SPENT : 16 crores
PURSE REMAINING : 72 crores
ALREADY IN HAND :
Mayank Agarwal ( Captain + Opener )
Arshdeep Singh ( Left arm seamer )
REQUIREMENTS :
- OPENER : They need a versatile opener to support Mayank . A left hander would me more handy and there are plenty of them . To be precise they’d go for the likes of Dhawan , Padikkal or N Rana.
- MIDDLE ORDER BATTER & FINISHER : In the second phase the previous season Markram did a decent job for them and Pooran was finding his form back and even looks good now so they might look to get them back . But leaving SRK is one of the surprising decision because no one has really for a weakness for him and he’s in his prime form . They’ll look to get a destructive finisher by going behind K PANDYA , R POWELL , S HETMEYER , NABI ( any two of them )
- WICKET KEEPER : This Auction is going to be a treat for wicket keepers . Because 6 out of the 10 teams don’t have a keeper , and as per the demand , the supply is also high . There are plenty of option to go with QDK , I KISHAN , D KARTHIK , KS BHARAT , J PHILIPPE , McDERMOTT , BILLINGS , BAIRSTOW , WADE etc. So there are more than 20 wicket keepers available in the Auction .
- QUALITY SPINNERS & SEAMERS : Arshdeep is the only bowler they have now and they definitely need a lot of them to support him . They bought J RICHARDSON & RILEY MEREDITH for huge amount last time but none of them performed well . So they should look to spend wisely on them and invest a lot on spinners and Indian speedsters . For example they will go for HASARANGA , SHAMSI , R CHAHAR , MUJEEB , D CHAHAR , M SHAMI , U YADAV .
SWOT ANALYSIS:
STRENGTH : Historically , Punjab Kings have always had settled openers, be it KL Rahul , Mayank Agarwal and even Gayle performed really well for them . But its their fragile middle order which cost them few in the past two seasons and this time they’ll definitely look sort it out somehow . And retaining Arshdeep for 4 crores is an excellent bargain because for the skill the possess , he could have earned a lot more in the auction .
WEAKNESS : Death bowling has been a major issue for them in the past . Generally all the teams struggle at this phase of the game but Punjab Kings struggle a lot . In 2020 they couldn’t defend 230 against the Royals and in 2021 they once again made a mess against the same team defending the same no of runs but fought back in the end with the help od Arshdeep's brilliant bowling .
Shami has been excellent for them in the power play and also in death overs at times, but both Arshdeep and Shami never fired . Either one of them will have a bad day and because of the lack of quality third seamer , they tend to lose control of the game . And they do not have a quality spinner . They tried both the Ashwins for two seasons and Varun for one season but Bishnoi was the one who performed consistently for them but they failed to retain him this time
OPPORTUNITIES : Their enormous purse is an opportunity for them to go madly for at least two big players so that they’ll act as deputy for Mayank Agarwal. And with that they can groom another experienced player to lead them in the future as Mayank is already 31 now. At least in this Mega Auction with perfectly planning the requirements the can end their playoff drought . For the past 7 seasons they’ve failed make the playoffs which is the longest streak ( second longest DC 2013-18 ).
THREATS : Their huge purse is also their threat as they might go really big for one player and loose a big part of it . And unfortunately they’d to loose some big names like KL Rahul , Gayle , Pooran and etc. ahead of this Auction and it’ll really difficult for them to get back them and find perfect alternatives. Their final threat would be their owner itself (bidding for each and every player )
CONCLUSION :
With 72 crores remaining in the purse , the Kings will definitely go hard early in the day because their co-owner Priti Zinta has been doing this in the previous auctions . And I’ll bet you it’ll to be really exciting to see how teams are going to frame their team especially Punjab Kings .
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