IPL 2022 Auction: 5 Players Punjab Kings (PBKS) Can Target

IPL 2022 Auction: 5 Players Punjab Kings (PBKS) Can Target. IPL 2022 mega auctions will revamp the structure of all the franchise teams for the next edition of the Indian Premier League.

As the IPL Governing Council has allowed each franchise to retain a maximum of four players, most of the franchises utilised the provision to keep their premium players for a longer duration.

A total of 27 players were retained in the retention list by the eight existing teams. Ace players like Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson have been retained by their respective teams ahead of the mega auction in 2022.

Punjab Kings released their all-time highest run-scorer and captain KL Rahul as the player is reportedly said to join the new entrant Lucknow outfit, owned by the Sanjiv Goenka conglomerate.

PBKS retained Rahul’s state teammate Mayank Agarwal and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh in the uncapped category of the retention policy.

Punjab has been unfortunate to not have not qualified for the IPL playoffs since their maiden appearance in IPL final in 2014, where they lost to KKR by three wickets.

They have shuffled their squad every year, tried different captains, and in fact, have also changed the name of their franchise but nothing seems to go their way to bag their elusive IPL trophy.

Let us look at the five potential players Punjab Kings might bid for in the IPL 2022 auction.

IPL 2022 Auction: 5 Players Punjab Kings (PBKS) Can Target

5) Shahrukh Khan

The Tamil Nadu batter has the ability to finish the game as he did for his state team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final.

Tamil Nadu required 16 runs from the final over as Shahrukh finished the chase with a last-ball six. Shahrukh made 47 runs against CSK as Punjab set 107 in the first innings, his efforts helped the team from escaping a shameful low score.

Shahrukh has amassed 547 runs from 39 innings, batting in the lower middle-order for Tamil Nadu, in domestic cricket.

Also Read: Watch: Shahrukh Khan Hits 6 Off The Last Ball In Final As Tamil Nadu Clinch Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021

4) Ravi Bishnoi

Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has been consistent and has picked 12 wickets in each of his last two IPL seasons and controls the middle-overs with his economy rate being at 6.34.

There were reports that Bishnoi was likely to be the third player along with Arshdeep and Mayank to be retained by the franchise but due to some unknown reasons that could not take place.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Watch: Ravi Bishnoi Castles MS Dhoni As His UAE Struggle Continues

3) Moises Henriques

The Australian all-rounder played just five games for Punjab Kings and bowled brilliantly against RCB with the figures of three for 12 runs. He got the wickets of Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal to keep Punjab charged in the first innings.

Henriques hasn’t got enough opportunities he deserves with the talent he brings with him, the Sydney Sixers skipper was part of David Warner’s Sunrisers Hyderabad team that won the 2016 title.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Important Not To Bowl Full And Let The Pitch Do The Rest – Moises Henriques On Sharjah Wicket

2) Trent Boult

The New Zealand pace bowler made a great duo with Jasprit Bumrah at Mumbai Indians after he was traded by Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL auction 2020.

Boult has played for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) before joining the Mumbai outifit. He has bagged 76 wickets from 62 IPL games at an economy rate of 8.4.

1) Steve Smith

After being released from Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2021 auction, Smith was bought by Delhi Capitals for a sum of INR 2.2 crore.

However, the star Australian batter got to play just eight out of 16 matches for the Capitals and scored 152 runs at an average of 25.33.

Smith can play an anchor’s role in Punjab’s batting order, an aspect they have been genuinely missing over the years. The Australian player can also be looked at as the potential leader of the team.