Punjab Kings Auction, IPL 2023: The Punjab Kings (PBKS), despite having a wealth of skilled players on their roster, came in sixth place in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) standings, which was disappointing.
In light of this, the Kings made significant adjustments prior to the IPL 2023 bidding. Shikhar Dhawan was named captain in Mayank Agarwal’s stead after the latter was fired, and other players like Odean Smith also left the team.
PBKS focused on a few well-known players at the IPL 2023 auction while content to cover the remaining roster slots with backups. These three problems were resolved by Punjab Kings in the IPL 2023 sale.
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IPL 2023: Here are three problems that were resolved by Punjab Kings in the IPL 2023 Mini Auction
3. Punjab Kings have a lot of all-rounders
At the IPL 2023 sale, Punjab Kings acquired Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, and Shivam Singh, three all-rounders. The three joined a host of cricketers with a variety of skills who already played for the franchise.
PBKS can also rely on Rishi Dhawan, Raj Bawa, Liam Livingstone, and Harpreet Brar to help in both departments in addition to Curran, Raza, and Singh, while a few others make good part-time choices. The Kings made sure that their lineup had some flexibility on December 23 with their acquisitions.
Raza in particular might be worth far more than his asking price. The Zimbabwean could make a splash in the IPL if given an opportunity, but he hasn’t been able to maintain his excellent T20I form in recent franchise leagues.
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2. Vidwath Kaverappa will boost a thin Indian pace attack
Vidwath Kaverappa has been one of the top players in the current domestic season. The fast bowler from Karnataka has taken wickets in all three forms, with particularly strong performances in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali trophies.
Kaverappa was signed by PBKS, who have a rather small Indian pace contingent, at his base fee. On the list, Arshdeep Singh is a well-known name, and Baltej Singh has also been creating waves in domestic cricket.
Dhawan does not, however, have access to any other trustworthy all-phase quick bowlers besides the pair. PBKS needed to buy some Indian pacers after dismissing players like Vaibhav Arora. Kaverappa, who is only 23 years old, might end up being a great acquisition.
1. Sam Curran
Sam Curran’s services were acquired by PBKS for a whopping $18.5 crore, making it the most expensive transaction in IPL auction history. The Englishman was always going to make money thanks to his success at the ICC T20 World Cup, which earned him Player of the Tournament honors.
For PBKS, Curran will address a number of problems. He will relieve Kagiso Rabada of a position he has struggled to play for the past few years and provide Arshdeep with some company at the death.
He will be important against specific match-ups as a left-hander in the middle order and will release the burden on Jitesh Sharma and Shahrukh Khan. Curran is a top-tier T20 cricket player, and PBKS are a much stronger team with him.
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