The most hit-and-miss team during the time of the auction - Punjab Kings - were among the top performers this time around. Shikhar Dhawan's presence in the top order compensates for the loss of KL Rahul who was Punjab's captain and most prolific batter over the last few seasons. Dhawan along with Mayank Agarwal are both captaincy candidates for the Kings.
Purse entered: INR 72 crore
Purse left: INR 3.45 crore
Biggest buys: Liam Livingstone (INR 11.5 crore), Kagiso Rabada (INR 9.25 crore), Shahrukh Khan (INR 9 crore)
In Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone, Punjab has two of the most dangerous hitters of the ball against any type of bowling in the top and middle order. Shah Rukh Khan who was touted as a one to watch out for went for big money to the Kings.
West Indies bowling allrounder Odean Smith is also an excellent buy for the team. Kagiso Rabada will lead a bowling attack that includes Smith and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh and possibly Raj Bawa, who was one of the leading fast bowlers at the recent Under-19 World Cup. After quite a while, the team is looking really good on the papers but matches are not played on paper, are they?
Punjab might have possibly wanted another Indian option for their middle order. Rahul Chahar will have to carry the burden of the spin department.
Squad List:
Punjab Kings(PBKS): Mayank Agarwal (R), Arshdeep Singh (R), Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell