IPL 2024 PBKS: Punjab Kings searching for first title, here is the complete analysis of the team
IPL 2024 Pubjab Kings Shikhar Dhawan : Punjab Kings. This is the same team, which was earlier known as Kings XI Punjab. The name of this team was changed in the year 2021. The team has played under this name for 3 years, but the dream of the first title is still unfulfilled. This time also the command of the team will be in the hands of Shikhar Dhawan. The team had signed many expensive players during the auction. Will those expensive players be able to win the trophy this time? Let us try to find out.
The team is known for changing captains
Punjab Kings team reached the finals of IPL for the first and last time in the year 2014. Then he had to face defeat at the hands of KKR. After this, forget about the title, the team has been seen struggling even to go to the playoffs. The biggest problem of this team has been that the team is known to change not only the players but also the captain every few years. For the last few years, the command of the team was in the hands of KL Rahul. Mayank Agarwal became the captain after he left LSG. He was also released and after this Shikhar Dhawan is now the captain. Shikhar has the responsibility on his shoulders, which no Punjab captain has been able to do till now.
Harshal Patel says Punjab has played a big bet
This time the team had played a big bet on Harshal Patel during the auction. The team had a lot of money in its purse. Therefore, the team brought Harsh Patel into its fold for Rs 11.7 crore. Some other teams were also keen to take Harshal, but when it came to money, Punjab won. The last few years have not been good for Harshal Patel, but he has been a Purple Cap winner and is considered to be in the death overs special list. Harshal Patel was playing for RCB in the 2023 IPL and he took 14 wickets in 13 matches. Talking about Harshal’s IPL career, till now he has played 91 matches and taken 111 wickets.
Foreign players have spent a lot of money
Apart from this, the team has also made big bets on foreign players and included them. A big name in this is Riley Rousseau of South Africa. Who was earlier playing for Delhi Capitals, but now Punjab has bought him for Rs 8 crore. However, the recent SA20 tournament was a mixed bag for Rousseau. Now the question is whether they will be able to perform as per the price at which they were purchased.
Punjab team will play its matches at the new stadium
Punjab Kings will not play the match at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali this time. The team will play in Maharaja Yadvendra Singh Stadium for the first time. It will also be interesting to see whether this new stadium will change the fortunes of the team. Anyway, the old stadium has not been very lucky for Punjab. The team has faced defeat there too, so an eye will be kept on the new stadium.
Opportunity for Shikhar Dhawan to prove himself again
Opportunity for Shikhar Dhawan to prove himself again
Meanwhile, the player of Punjab Kings who will be most closely watched will be captain Shikhar Dhawan. He is no longer playing for Team India, while BCCI has also removed him from the central contract. In such a situation, he will have a chance to prove his usefulness by batting again in the same aggressive style. He took command of the team in the year 2023 itself and has managed to perform very well with the bat. He had scored 373 runs in 11 matches last year. Here his average was 41.44. Three half-century innings also came from his bat. If we talk about his entire IPL career, he has scored 6617 runs after playing 217 matches.
A huge army of young players too
While there is an experienced player like Shikhar Dhawan in the team, the team has also included young players with itself. It has players like Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Atharva Tayde, Harpreet Brar, Shivam Singh and Arshdeep Singh, who seem all set to showcase their skills.
Many named foreign players are also in the team
The team also has a large army of foreign players. There are players like Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Liam Livingstone, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada and Chris Woakes. There is every possibility that Jonny Bairstow can open with Shikhar Dhawan. However, the team has a batsman in the form of Prabhsimran Singh, who surprised everyone by scoring a century last season. That means, if Prabhsimran opens, Veristow can come at number three.
Punjab Kings full squad for IPL 2024: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Tayde, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kawerappa. , Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thiagarajan, Prince Choudhary, Riley Rousseau.
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