Punjab Kings formerly known as the Kings Xi Punjab had the biggest purse of Rs 53.20 crores entering into the Vivo IPL auction 2021 room which they fully utilized .
Prior to the auction , PBKS released a total of 9 players which included some big names like Glenn Maxwell, Jimmy Neesham , K.Gowtham, Sheldon Cottrell, Karun Nair , Mujeeb ur Rehman etc.With some big holes to fill , PBKS looked to find the right players to fit into the correct position that the team management wanted to . The Punjab Kings had a horrible run in the 1st phase of last year’s VIVO IPL edition but found momentum towards the back end of the tournament as they finished 6th in the points table as they lost the do or die match to Chennai Super Kings. In the previous edition they won the hearts of fans as they showed tremendous fighting spirit and raised Hopes for qualification when they found the right team combination.
PBKS managed to secure No. T20I English batsman Dawid Malan at Rs 1.5 crore which proved to be a very lucky signing for them . Later on , Punjab Kings managed to rope in lanky fast bowler Jhy Richardson at a whopping Rs 14 crore after an intense bidding battle . Punjab team management seemed to be really satisfied as Richardson would reduce the pressure from Shami with his wicket taking abilities which he demonstrated in the recently concluded BIG BASH LEAGUE where he was the leading wicket taker with 29 wickets . Punjab also signed in hard hitting emerging batsman Shahrukh Khan for Rs 5.25 crores who is in terrific form as he showcased his powerful batting display in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament for Tamil Nadu. Riley Meredith who has been outstanding for Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, was bagged in by the Punjab Kings for Rs 8 Crores making him the most expensive uncapped overseas player in the history of the IPL.
Riley can consistently hit the 140-150 kmph mark would be handy for the Kings. The important signing was Moises Henruques who signed a contract worth Rs 4.20 crores and will bring the right balance and value to the squad with his all round abilities which the team lacked in the previous editions. The other players bought by PBKS were Jalaj Saxena ( Rs 30 crores) , Fabien Allen( Rs 75 lakhs) , Utkarsh Singh ( Rs 20 lakhs) , Saurabh Kumar ( Rs 20 lakhs) .
Even though the Punjab Kings have signed quality players by fully taking advantage of their purse remaining, it will be important for them to find the correct team proposition from the very beginning of the tournament in order to give themselves a chance to qualify for the playoffs. The main responsibility will be on the top order of captain K.L.Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran .
In the bowling department, PBKS will be dependent on the wrist spinning duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin with valuable assistance from the pace battery of Mohammed Shami and Jhye Richardson
Punjab Kings squad for IPL 2021- KL Rahul(c) , Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Ishan Porel, Sarfaraz Khan, Murugan Ashwin, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Ravi Bishnoi, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Arshdeep Singh, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar
Probable playing XI of PBKS- K.L Rahul , Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques , Jhye Richardson, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi , Murugan Ashwin .
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