In a quest to safe its first Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs berth since 2014, Punjab Kings will be bolstered by a new chief in Shikhar Dhawan and England all-rounder Sam Curran, who was roped in for ₹18.5 crore on the public sale in December, making the 24-year-old the costliest purchase in the league’s historical past.
Following its defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2014 remaining, its solely look in an IPL summit conflict, Punjab hit all-time low when it completed final in the factors desk in the next two seasons.
In the final eight editions of the match, a fifth-place end in 2017 is one of the best the Kings can boast of. Also, a change in title in 2021, from the erstwhile Kings XI Punjab, failed to show Punjab’s fortunes round.
Potent tempo assault
While the Dhawan-led aspect has a well-rounded and potent abroad mixture in Curran, Liam Livingstone and Kagiso Rabada, Punjab Kings will miss the providers of Jonny Bairstow, who was dominated out of the match as he continues to get better from a freak leg damage.
Bairstow’s absence will compound Punjab’s issues because it has restricted Indian choices, notably in the batting division, and ship Dhawan on a hunt for a gap associate.
Punjab launched its 2022 skipper Mayank Agarwal after a forgettable marketing campaign and will depend on two explosive homegrown batters in the middle-order — Shahrukh Khan, who’s but to show himself in the IPL, and Jitesh Sharma, who revelled final season with a strike fee of 163.64.
While the bevy of power-hitters in the squad, which additionally consists of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who might fill in for the injured Bairstow, is in conserving with Punjab’s thrill-a-minute batting, the dearth of an anchor might harm the staff. Kings had the best PowerPlay run fee (9.11) in 2022 however misplaced steam on the demise, scoring at under 10 runs an over.
Curran will add much-needed depth to the batting and kind a formidable three-pronged tempo assault together with Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada. Punjab has its new-ball and demise bowling well-covered with its first-choice tempo choices possessing the talents to succeed in the 2 difficult phases of play.
Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, who has fallen off the radar of nationwide choice, and left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar will shoulder the duty in the middle-overs.
Punjab’s spin division has some chinks however part-time tweaker Livingstone, who additionally bowls with the new ball, will be anticipated to tide them over.
All-rounder Sikandar Raza and pacer Nathan Ellis are dependable choices who can cushion the impression of potential accidents.
With the return of the home-and-away format, Punjab Kings will play 5 of its residence video games on the I.S. Bindra Stadium in Mohali and two on the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
Quicks raring to go
The quicks will be raring go to in situations prone to favour seam-bowling whereas the batters will seek consistency in their cavalier method as Punjab Kings units out on one more marketing campaign in search of that elusive silverware.
