Punjab Kings went to the mega auction with a purse of 90 crores, just like other teams. The team was able to buy 25 players from the budget, with 3.5 crores left in the bag. The team secured the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, and Liam Livingstone on the side.
Talking to India Today, PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia expressed that he feels this was the most successful auction for PBKS so far. He emphasized that the auction was successful yet challenging and that half of the job for IPL 2022 had been done on the bidding table. Now it’s the role of coaches Anil Kumble, Jonty Rhodes, and Damien Wright to assist the team get the elusive title they have been waiting for so long.
Since IPL’s beginning, PBKS has underperformed. They have just reached finals once in 14 attempts. Punjab Kings had an abysmal run in the last three seasons. PBKS co-owner also expressed to Trust India Today that he feels the team should at least reach the playoffs this ever so the team looks balanced and have deep batting, unlike the other seasons.
Punjab only retained Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh pre-auction. PBKS spent huge bags to rope in the following players: Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, and Odean Smith. They bought up one U-19 World Cup player who played exceptionally well in the tournament Raj Bawa in the side. Also, Rishi Dhawan and Sandeep Sharma are some valuable players in the team. Wadia also stated that the squad seems more balanced now as compared to the last season.
