IPL 2022: 50% Of The Battle Is Getting The Right Team, Which Is What We've Done – Punjab Kings Co-owner Ness Wadia

Punjab Kings (PBKS) co-owner Ness Wadia has said that the team have already won 50% of the battle by bringing good players at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction and now it’s up to the players and the coaches to lead the team towards the maiden title.

In the 14 editions of the Indian Premier League so far Punjab Kings (PBKS) have made it to the final only once. The Punjab-based franchise entered the Indian Premier League 2022 mega auction with INR 72 crore purse as they retained only two players –Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh – and they did a great job by bringing the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar and Liam Livingstone to the team.

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Meanwhile, Ness Wadia is hoping that the team at least enter the playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2022 after a horrible run in the last couple of seasons.

“50% 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. “Or at least a place in the top four play-offs because we have had a bad run the last four-five years,” Wadia told PTI.

This was the toughest and most successful auction for us since the first edition in 2008 – Ness Wadia

“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,” said Wadia.

“We had a very good idea of who we would be going for and we were pretty accurate when it came to that. And also, our objective was not to really focus on what others are doing. Each team has its own way of playing style number one and number two, how to get the right players to meet that style so we were very happy with the players we got.”

He added that there were a few players they would have liked to retain but were unable to do that.

“Yes, we would have liked to have kept some of the players which we didn’t retain,” he said referring to Aiden Markram.

The co-owner while talking about the preparations said that they conducted several mock auctions before the actual auction in Bengaluru.

“There were several mock auctions. It was very, very intense. If you don’t plan and you’re not prepared, then you won’t be able to deal with the dynamics of a battle. I’m very proud to say that all the planning and effort by everyone including the board has helped us to achieve what we wanted to achieve.”

Ness Wadia added Punjab wanted more Indian bowlers but was happy to see them going for a big amount.

“We wanted to get more Indian bowlers (the likes of Thakur, Harshal Patel and Deepak Chahar) but I am happy they went for big money. It was high time our Indian bowlers got their due,” said Wadia.

“I feel we have seen the worst of the pandemic. It is fantastic that IPL is back in India, where it belongs. If it is held in various parts of India, it is even better. I think for this year, it is best if it is in one state and going forward we can have it all around the country,” he added.

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