IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Punjab Kings (PBKS) Players Rajasthan Royals (RR) Can Target

IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Punjab Kings (PBKS) Players Rajasthan Royals (RR) Can Target.  After the IPL 2022 mega auction, the cricket legends weighted Punjab Kings among the probable teams to reach the playoff and even win the IPL trophy. The reason was that they had a very good team comprising a bunch of talented utility players who could single-handedly win matches for the franchise.

Veteran Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has been confirmed as the new captain of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise for the forthcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Wednesday. Shikhar Dhawan, who is not a part of the Indian T20 World Cup 2022 squad and is considered an ODI specialist and ODI skipper will replace another opener Mayank Agarwal as the leader of the Punjab-based franchise in the IPL 2023.

 Rajasthan Royals had a memorable campaign during the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League 2022. They meant business from the very first game and finished second at the end of the group stage with nine wins in 14 games.

Sanju Samson & co. conquered Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second qualifier to reach the Final but failed to recreate history as they lost the summit clash to Gujarat Titans.

Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal led Rajasthan’s charge in the IPL 2022 season and were the winners of the Orange Cap and Purple Cap respectively. The think tank had done a pretty good job at the mega auction 2022 to assemble a quality squad and it clearly paid dividends.

Rajasthan Royals were the first-ever champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) way back in 2008, but after winning the inaugural season of the league, they lost their way for a long time and struggled to even make it to the playoffs consistently in the last decade.

However, during the last IPL 2022, after assembling a new team in the mega auction, Rajasthan Royals showed the old spark again under the captaincy of Sanju Samson and they made it to the final of the tournament before losing against the Gujarat Titans.

Ahead of the next IPL 2023 mini-auction, which will be held in mid-December, Rajasthan Royals might retain most of their players from the last year’s squad. Rajasthan Royals might release the likes of Rassie Van Der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell, Navdeep Saini, Karun Nair, and Obed McCoy before IPL 2023.

IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Punjab Kings (PBKS) Players Rajasthan Royals (RR) Can Target

Shahrukh Khan

Punjab Kings (PBKS) left no stone unturned to have 27 years old Shahrukh Khan back in the TATA IPL 2022 auction, spending INR 9 Crores but he scored only 117 runs in 8 games averaging a mere 16.71 with a below-par strike rate of 108.33.

In IPL 2021, he scored 153 runs in 11 games averaging 21.85 and a strike rate of 134.21. He was a first-choice pick for PBKS initially but failed to provide the explosive finishes that he was capable of. PBKS opted to have Jitesh Sharma as their finisher who did a better job with 234 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 163.34 in IPL 2022. Shahrukh Khan may be picked up by Rajasthan Royals (RR) as they would want a designated finisher in the IPL 2023 squad. He will be on Rajasthan’s radar in IPL 2023.

Odean Smith

Punjab Kings shelled out a whopping INR 6 crore to sign Odean Smith at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. Odean Smith did well in his first match and helped PBKS beat RCB, but the Caribbean all-rounder could not maintain consistency.

He played six matches in IPL 2022, scoring 51 runs at an average of 17. With the ball, he leaked 178 runs in 15 overs while picking up six wickets. He may be targeted by Rajasthan in IPL 2023 if Punjab Kings release the all-rounder.

Rishi Dhawan

Rishi Dhawan has shown tremendous fight and has led from the front for Himachal Pradesh. The all-rounder was his team’s leading run-getter and wicket-taker during their triumphant Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign in 2021/22 and had an impressive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season with the ball.

An experienced campaigner, Rishi Dhawan, played 6 matches and picked 6 scalps averaging 26 for Punjab Kings in IPL 2022. In the 2021-22 season, Rishi Dhawan picked 14 wickets in 6 matches in the SMAT. In VHT 2021-22, the fast bowling all-rounder took 17 wickets in 8 games and was the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament – 458 in 8 games at a strike rate of 127 and average of 76.33.

He may be targeted by Rajasthan in IPL 2023 if released by Punjab Kings for moderate performances in IPL 2022.