Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has shared his views on Mayank Agarwal being named the new skipper of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2022 season.
In a conversation with Star Sports, Gavaskar stated that it would be a tough task for Agarwal to helm the team in the new season as PBKS have often failed to utilise their talent properly.
“It is not going to be easy. They are one team, who over the years, have not done justice to their talent. The reasons, we don’t know. In T20 format, it is just that sometimes you need that element of luck,” commented Gavaskar on PBKS’ performance throughout the seasons.
He also added that the team was one which could reach the finals and take home the IPL trophy if they could make good use of their players.
“But they are the team who can only get better because, if I’m not wrong they are yet to reach the finals (they reached in 2014). So there is that incentive in front of them, to make the knockouts or the finals. And who knows, once they get there, they could take the trophy home,” he added.
Punjab Kings have undergone a massive transformation, with former skipper KL Rahul departing from the team. In the IPL 2022 auction held last month, PBKS added several bigwigs to their team including Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada and Liam Livingstone.
Livingstone was the most-expensive foreign player in the auction this year, and was purchased by PBKS at a whopping Rs 11.50 crore. Rabada and Shahrukh Khan were also bought by the team for staggering sums of Rs 9.25 crore and Rs 9 crore. Shikhar Dhawan, who left the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise, was bought by Rs 8.25 crore and became the tenth most expensive Indian player in this year’s auction.
Former spinner Anil Kumble retains his position as the team’s coach. Over the years, PBKS have ended up twice at the bottom of the table. The team has reached playoffs only two times in the 15 seasons of the IPL, finishing as runners-up in 2014.
The current PBKS squad also features Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar, Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Jitesh Sharma, Odean Smith and Raj Bawa, among others. The team will play their first match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on 27 March.
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