IPL 2021: 5 Players From Punjab Kings Who Might Be Benched Throughout The Tournament

Punjab Kings participated in IPL 2021 auction with the highest salary cap of Rs. 53.20 crore. Punjab Kings bought 9 players during the auction. Ahead of the auction, the franchisee released 9 players out of their squad. Australian pacer Jhye Richardson became Punjab Kings’ costliest buy during IPL 2021 auction after the franchisee spent Rs. 14 crore for the cricketer.

Punjab Kings also bought Riley Meredith, another Australian pacer, for Rs. 8 crore during the mini-auction. Punjab Kings also bought all-rounder Shahrukh for Rs. 5.25 crore, Moises Henriques for Rs. 4.2 crore, Dawid Malan Rs. 1.5 crore, Fabian Allen for Rs. 30 lakh, Jalaj Saxena for Rs. 30 lakh, Saurabh Kumar for Rs. 20 lakh and Utkarsh Singh for Rs. 20 lakh.

Punjab Kings retained 16 players ahead of IPL 2021 auction and after the addition of 9 new players, Punjab Kings have 25 players in their squad. They are- KL Rahul, Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Darshan Nalkande, Harpreet Brar, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Mohammad Shami, Murugan Ashwin, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Ishan Porel, Ravi Bishnoi, Chris Jordan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Dawid Malan, Fabian Allen, Jalaj Saxena, Saurabh Kumar and Utkarsh Singh.

Punjab Kings have some great bowlers and batsmen in their squad. Hence, there will be few players who might be benched throughout IPL 2021 tournament. Here we look at 5 players from Punjab Kings who might be benched during IPL 2021.

IPL 2021: 5 Players From Punjab Kings Who Might Be Benched Throughout The Tournament

Jalaj Saxena

At Rs. 30 lakh, Jalaj Saxena became part of Punjab Kings in the IPL 2021 auction. The 34-year-old cricketer has not played any IPL tournament so far. He has a lot of experience at the domestic level having played 123 First-class matches, 97 List A matches and 59 T20 matches. Punjab Kings have inducted Jalaj Saxena as a back-up player in the team. However, due to his inexperience in the Indian Premier League, his addition in the playing 11 of Punjab Kings in IPL 2021 is highly unlikely.

Saurabh Kumar

Saurabh Kumar is another all-rounder who joined Punjab in IPL 2021 auction. The 27-year-old cricketer is an all-rounder who has a lot of experience at the domestic level. He has played 44 First-class, 25 List A, and 28 T20 matches. Saurabh Kumar was earlier part o Rising Pune Supergiants but did not play any games for the franchisee. In IPL 2021 too, Saurabh Kumar might be benched throughout the season.

Darshan Nalkande

Darshan Nalkande, who is part of Punjab, has played few matches in his cricket career. The 22-year-old all-rounder has played for the India U-19 team before. So far, he has played 3 First-class, 11 List A, and 14 T20 matches. With such little experience, Nalkande is highly unlikely to represent Punjab Kings on the field during IPL 2021.

Ishan Porel

Ishan Porel, who plays for Bengal at the domestic level, is part of the Punjab squad in IPL 2021. The 22-year-old all-rounder is yet to play an IPL match. Ishan is majorly a bowler, who has amazing stats at the domestic level. He has played 22 First-class, 29 List A and 19 T20 matches so far. With a nail-biting competition for the playing 11, Ishan has very little chance to appear on the field during IPL 2021. He will have to wait for more time to enter the playing 11 for Punjab Kings.

Utkarsh Singh

Utkarsh Singh made his way into Punjab in IPL 2021 auction. The 22-year-old all-rounder has played 18 First-class, 18 List A, and 21 T20 matches so far. He represents Jharkhand at the domestic level and has also played for India Under-19. This is the debut IPL season for Utkarsh Singh and being an all-rounder, he faces tough competition to be part of the playing 11 of Punjab in IPL 2021.