IPL 2022: 5 Reasons Why Punjab Kings (PBKS) Might Win the IPL Trophy
IPL 2022: After investing a lot of money during the IPL auction for the next season, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be hoping to win their first IPL title this year. The Punjab Kings chose to totally rebuild their system by retaining only two players, one of whom is uncapped retention. They parted ways with their previous skipper and one of the finest T20 batsmen on the circuit.
The team retained just Mayank Agarwal, a seasoned campaigner, who has been prospering with the bat in recent years. Arshdeep Singh, a left-arm bowler with outstanding potential and fair results in the previous season is also retained. Punjab have only made it to the finals of the IPL once under George Bailey’s leadership. They lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 during that final. Before the auction, they had their work cut out for them in forming a powerful team. And now, they wouldn’t be disappointed with the results.
IPL 2022: 5 Reasons Why Punjab Kings Might Win the IPL This Year
5. Addition of Good Pace Bowlers
With the additions of Kagiso Rabada, Punjab Kings have added a lot of depth to their fast bowling department. PBKS’s second choice at the auction was Kagiso Rabada. He fetched Rs 9.25 crores, which is reasonable for a pacer with Rabada’s skill. He has the ability to accelerate the ball quickly and might establish a valuable partnership with Arshdeep Singh.
Arshdeep’s graph has steadily improved each season. PBKS actually scored a bargain by keeping the Indian left-arm bowler with a tremendous upside for just 4 crores.
4. Young and New Spin Attack
The leg-spin combo of R Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi, which fared exceptionally well during the IPL 2020, was one of the highlights for the Punjab Kings. Even now, after gaining the services of Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar, Punjab’s spin bowling attack appears to be in good shape.
Despite having minimal international experience, they can pick up a lot of wickets in the middle overs and can have a very good economy rate. Chahar’s economy rate of 7.42 and strike rate of 21.43 do demonstrate his ability to limit runs and pick wickets in the middle overs, as seen during his 35 wickets during the period since 2019.
3. Marquee and Experienced Opening Options
With KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, Punjab Kings had a great opening duo in the IPL 2021. Now with Dhawan, Agarwal, and Bairstow in the top three positions, PBKS will have to decide for who will begin the innings with Dhawan. Three of them had fantastic recent IPL seasons. While Agarwal has been the franchise’s primary opener, Bairstow appears to be a stronger balance to Dhawan at the top.
2. Shikhar Dhawan Factor
For the Punjab Kings, Shikhar Dhawan will be a huge boost. The Punjab Kings were not hesitant to pay a hefty 8.25 crores for veteran southpaw Shikhar Dhawan, who was the first name to be called at the auction. Due to his recent outstanding form, he was recently called back to India’s T20 team.
What may appear to be a pricey decision given his age factor, Dhawan’s ability to score over 500 runs in each of the last three seasons cannot be underestimated and illustrates why he was so highly sought after.
1. Destructive Hitters in the Middle Order
Shahrukh Khan, a formidable finisher in the home circuit, has been bought back to help the Punjab Kings. He was acquired for 5 crores following a fierce bidding struggle with the franchises and might be an excellent addition to Liam Livingstone. Livingstone, an English hard-hitting batsman, is also next.
Liam may not be a household name in the IPL, but his 11.5 crore bid was not unexpected given the scarcity of excellent middle-order hitters in international cricket, who can smash both pace and spinners equally and effectively.
