IPL 2023: Full Squad and Players Details for Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Punjab Kings (PBKS) purchase 6 players in the Auction as we look at their full official squad and playing 11 for IPL 2023.
The Punjab Kings made headlines in the IPL 2023 Auction when they purchased the most expensive player in IPL history, Sam Curran for INR 18.5 Cr. It’s an amount never heard of in IPL, and was almost 1.5 Cr higher than the previous highest KL Rahul, who has a salary of INR 17 Cr.
But remove Sam Curran, and Punjab Kings didn’t do much in the Auction. The team had a well-settled squad even before the Auction, so they only focused on getting decent backups in the squad once they got Sam Curran.
Barring Sam, Punjab Kings purchased 5 more players in the form of Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Bhatia, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh, and Vidwarh Kaverappa. Surprisingly, the costliest of them all is Sikandar Raza, whom PBKS purchase at a base price of INR 0.5 Cr. So, here’s a list of all the players bought by Punjab Kings in the IPL 2023 Auction.
IPL 2023 Auction: Players Bought by Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Sam Curran [INR 18.5 Cr], Sikandar Raza [INR 0.5 Cr], Harpreet Bhatia [INR 0.4 Cr], Mohit Rathee [INR 0.2 Cr], Shivam Singh [INR 0.2 Cr] & Vidwath Kaverappa [INR 0.2 Cr]
Analyzing the squad, Punjab Kings have only 22 players on their squad; the lowest among all the teams. The team has 5 batters, 4 wicket-keepers, 7 All-rounders, and 6 bowlers. So, here’s the list of the official players list for Punjab Kings for IPL 2023.
IPL 2023: Punjab Kings (PBKS) Official Squad and Player Details:
Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia, Shahrukh Khan, Shikhar Dhawan [c], Shivam Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa [o&wk], Jitesh Sharma [wk], Jonny Bairstow [o&wk], Prabsimran Singh [wk], Harpreet Brar, Liam Livingstone [o], Mohit Rathee, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran [o], Sikandar Raza [o], Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Kagiso Rabada [o], Nathan Ellis [o], Rahul Chahar & Vidwath Kaveperappa
Total Players for IPL 2023: 22
Talking about the first-choice playing 11 for Punjab Kings, we should see Captain Shikhar Dhawan along won’t either Sam Curran or Jonny Bairstow. Given the price tag of Sam Curran, Punjab Kings would like to utilize his batting too – and what better than making him bat in the powerplay?
If Sam Curran opens, we should see Jonny Bairstow at 3, Liam Livingstone at 4, Shahrukh Khan at 5, and Jitesh Sharma at 6. This is one of the most dangerous batting line-ups among all 10 teams. Following them will be the all-rounder duo of Rishi Dhawan and Harpreet Brar. Here, Raj Bawa can also play above Rishi Dhawan, if needed.
Meanwhile, coming to the bowling line-up, we should see Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh leading the pace attack with support from Sam Curran and Rishi Dhawan. Whereas the spin bowling shall be led by Rahul Chahar with support from Harpreet Brar.
IPL 2023: Best First-choice Playing 11 for Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Shikhar Dhawan [c], Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow [wk], Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar & Arshdeep Singh
Thanks for reading! What’s your take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) squad and players list for IPL 2023 post the Mini Auction? Please email your thoughts to cric8fanatic@gmail.com
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