Ajit Karn
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After another unsuccessful season, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) have, as they do every year, cut ties with many of its players and hired new coaches.
They did not re-sign Mayank Agarwal, their former skipper and opener, from the December 23 auction in Kochi.
For INR 18.50 crore, PBKS signed up the promising all-rounder Sam Curran, making him the most expensive player ever purchased in the IPL.
The organisation, though, could have opted for any number of other players who might have proven to be steal buys and improved the team’s overall performance.
Spending so much money on Curran was puzzling because the franchise already had promising fast bowlers like Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada and some gun batsmen like Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone, among others.
They have plenty of room for development heading into the following Indian Premier League season.
The following are three players that PBKS might have selected in place of Sam Curran:-
1. Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes is a more well-rounded all-rounder than Sam Curran is at this point in his career.
In addition to being a dependable batsman in the middle order, he has a flair for taking wickets by bowling accurate lines and lengths at a fast tempo.
In addition to his other skill sets, he possesses outstanding fielding talents.
Stokes would have also come at a big price, but at the same time, the value that he can give to a team is considerably greater than what Sam Curran might potentially offer. Therefore, it would have been wiser to pursue Stokes rather than Sam Curran.
It hasn’t been possible for Curran to demonstrate his quality in the SA20.
While doing so, Stokes has led his country to victory in two World Cups played with white balls and demonstrated his ability to perform well even when the stakes are high.
The fact that the Christchurch native has a wealth of experience playing in the Indian Premier League is another reason why he is a more well-rounded choice than Curran.
In his past roles with Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiants, he repeatedly displayed the high level of play expected of him in professional sports.
In the sport of cricket, he is one of the select few players who possesses the potential to pull victories out of the jaws of loss.
2. Mayank Agarwal
We have seen throughout the course of the 15 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) how much having a strong core of players from India proves to be beneficial over the course of a season that is somewhat long.
IPL champion teams have always featured a strong representation of Indian players throughout the tournament’s history. This has proven to be quite important, especially considering that each team is required to have at least seven players with Indian ancestry.
When one considers the roster of the Punjab Kings, the only major Indian players are Shikhar Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh, and, to a certain extent, Rahul Chahar.
Aside from that, though, their team has a very limited amount of experience in playing games with an Indian flavour.
They had the option of going back to their old captain, Mayank Agarwal, who would have brought the lineup the much-required experience. However, they decided not to do so.
He played for Punjab and had a solid season overall, although he did not fulfil his potential as a top-order batsman for the team.
They probably passed up an opportunity by not getting him back at a lower price. If they had him in the lineup, they could have taken out one of the batters who were imported from overseas.
If they had invested part of the money they received from the sale of Sam Curran on Agarwal, they would have been in a position to buy either an additional high-caliber spinner or a speed demon fast bowler.
They could have chosen the Karnataka batter and saved themselves half of the money they spent on Curran.
Despite this, the opener is scheduled to make an appearance for the Sunrisers Hyderabad during this season.
3. Adam Zampa
At this year’s IPL auction, Rajasthan Royals paid INR 1.5 crore for Adam Zampa.
He would have been a great addition to Punjab Kings’ team.
The Punjab Kings only have one main spinner, which is not a good thing because Chennai and Delhi have fast wickets that require two spinners most of the time.
Punjab would have benefited a lot from Zampa’s experience, and he could have played ahead of Rahul Chahar as the best spinner.
Zampa has been very good at T20 cricket, both for his team and for the rest of the world.
In the current Big Bash league, he has done well. He has taken 13 wickets in 13 games, with an economy rate of 7.21, and he is also leading his team.
His wicket-taking skills and the ability to choose the right variation for opponents are two of the most important things he brings.
Punjab could have put together a great team for the next game if they had a spin bowler like Zampa in their lineup.
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Sam Curran was the most-expensive player to have been bought in an IPL auction, going to Punjab Kings for INR 18.50 crore. Shivam Mavi, at INR 6 crore, became the most-expensive uncapped Indian in the IPL 2023 Auction.#IPLAuctionhttps://t.co/LtWvy9cqZp
— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) December 23, 2022
