Picture Credit: Twitter/@IPL
Indian Premier League franchise Punjab Kings’ (PBSK) co-owner Ness Wadia feels the 2022 auction has been the most successful auction for his team from the start of the tournament in 2008. Wadia also talked about how after the auction it is the responsibility of the coaching staff to push the team ahead.
“We have a well-balanced squad now. We bat all the way down to eight or nine and have the bowlers who can do the job both upfront and at the death. I would say this was the toughest and most successful auction for us since the first edition in 2008," the 50-year-old told to the Press Trust of India.
"50 per cent of the battle is getting the right team, which is what we've done. Now it's up to the players, coaches Anil (Kumble), Jonty (Rhodes) and Damien (Wright), to really take us to that elusive title we have been waiting for so long," he added.
"Or at least a place in the top four play-offs because we have had a bad run the last four-five years," added the PBKS co-owner on the team’s goals for the 2022 season.
The Punjab Kings entered the 2022 IPL Auction with the highest amount of capital out of all 10 teams with Rs. 72 crores. The team had retained only two players which included Indian batter Mayank Agarwal for Rs. 14 crores and uncapped fast bowler Arshdeep Singh for Rs. 4 crores. They managed to sign 23 players with their most expensive purchase being England all-rounder Liam Livingstone for 11.50 Crores.
They certainly enter the 2022 season as one of the most prolific batting orders with players like Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Mayank Agarwal, Livingstone. Similarly, they also boast an incredible crop of young Indian players like Raj Angad Bawa, Shah Rukh Khan, Ishan Porel, Arshdeep Singh etc. who could be the cornerstones of the franchise in coming years. But their weakness lies in bowling as Kagiso Rabada and Deepak Chahar are the only bowlers with calibre in their squad.
Punjab Kings Squad for IPL 2022:
Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.
