Since their poor success in the Indian Premier League last season, a lot has changed for the Punjab players (IPL). The Punjab Kings, as they are now known, will be hoping that a new name, a new slogan, and a new look will help them turn their fortunes around. The last time Punjab qualified for the playoffs was in 2014, when they finished second. Since then, things have been difficult, and their success in the UAE last season reflected the team’s recent struggles in the IPL. Despite getting some well-known players, Punjab could only finish sixth in the IPL Points Table.
The two bottom-placed squads, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, have the same number of points (12).
For the IPL auction, Punjab Kings went with a “out with the old, in with the modern” approach. They went into the auction with the highest budget of all the participants, and they cashed in high, investing Rs 47.90 crore on nine players.
Glenn Maxwell, Jimmy Neesham, and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman were among the victims. Jhye Richardson, an Australian pacer, was purchased for an eye-watering Rs 14 crore, while Riley Meredith was purchased for Rs 8 crore.
Shahrukh Khan cost them Rs 5.25 crore, and they also enlisted the help of Moises Henriques, Dawid Malan, and Fabian Allen.
Despite losing some key players, Punjab Kings were able to keep a solid core squad, led by captain KL Rahul. Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, and Deepak Hooda, to name a few, all made the cut and will be hoping to repay the management’s confidence in them.
Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, and Ishan Porel were all retained, but they would have to compete for a spot in the squad ahead of the new additions.
Punjab’s 2020
Despite a promising start to the IPL 2020 season, which included a Super Over loss to Delhi Capitals in their first game and a victory over RCB in their second, Punjab struggled for the majority of the season.
They went on to lose the next five games before crushing RCB once more.
The team won all four of their games, including one against the Mumbai Indians, boosting hopes of making the playoffs. However, their hard work was undone as they lost their next two games, resulting in yet another finish outside the top four.
Punjab Kings only managed six victories in all, losing eight times.