As the moment arrived & the moment when auction for IPL 2021 began, Punjab Kings were already prepared with the maximum budget for the auction held in chennai last month. It was all visible from Punjab’s expenditure of INR 34.4 Crore in the auction to buy nine players which included No.1 ranked T20 batsman, a couple of overseas fast bowlers, a couple of overseas all rounders & four Indian players.
The easiest part for Punjab would be that their top order Rahul, Mayank Agarwal & Chris Gayle need not be compromised, especially their performance in IPL 2020. As the game proceeds, Punjab will have an option to replace Gayle with David Malan, if needed, at no. 3. While hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman Nicholas Pooran is another surety in their Playing XI, the replacement for Glen Maxwell will be a huge concern for Punjab. Glen Maxwell was released by the franchise considering his performance in last season.
Punjab have a couple of options to choose, between Moises Henriques and Fabian Allen, for the position of an overseas all-rounder. While Henriques is a tried and tested campaigner, Kings might look to start with Allen for the X-factor he offers in this format.
When it comes to bowling, the trio of Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi should retain their respective places in the Playing XI. Kings might also pick one out of Chris Jordan, Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith if they are looking forward to using some international bowling experience.
PBKS Playing 11 IPL 2021 – 1) Lokesh Rahul (c) 2) Mayank Agarwal 3) Chris Gayle 4) Nicholas Pooran (wk) 5) Deepak Hooda 6) Shahrukh Khan 7) Fabian Allen 8) Jhye Richardson 9) Mohammed Shami 10) Ravi Bishnoi 11) Arshdeep Singh