It was not as if no one saw it coming. Going into the mega-auction with the highest purse, most RTM options, only two retained players, and their knack for making the auctions double in fun and suspense always meant that Punjab Kings (PBKS) would not think twice before splurging. They bagged Shreyas Iyer, the winning captain in the last edition, for a hefty price of INR 26.75 crore. Making him just the second most expensive player in IPL history after Rishabh Pant, who earned only INR 0.25 crore more than him just a few minutes later.
Punjab Kings needed a captain and their blueprint for getting one on board was simple. Get someone who has shining credentials as a skipper on his resume. Iyer seemed just the right fit. PBKS’ head coach, Ricky Ponting, while talking to Star Sports said the management thinks that the top-order batter will make for a ‘great’ captain.
“I wanted to work with Shreyas. I’ve worked with him before and he is a great guy and a great player. He’ll be a great leader for our team if we decide to go that way, which I’m pretty sure we probably will. And obviously, he was the championship-winning captain last year. So there are lots of great things about bringing him to Punjab.” Ponting said on PBKS’ big splash out for Iyer.
But the Kings’ plan was not to go big for just the captain. Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh were raked in millions too. Chahal, who had been with Rajasthan Royals (RR) for the past three seasons, was roped in for INR 18 crore by the Punjab-based team. Before playing for RR, the leg spinner had represented Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. But this was the most expensive deal he has cracked so far. Talking to JioCinema, Yuzi himself confessed that this was a price higher than he had expected to get, though he thoroughly deserved it.
“I was quite nervous and anxious,” said Chahal following his purchase by PBKS. “because this amount is what I got in the last three seasons combined.”
“I had a hunch and even my friends told me that I’d go to Punjab, but I had no idea it would be for such a high price. I had 12 crore-13 crore in mind, but I do deserve this. Wherever you go, you always have the opportunity to learn and grow, and I’ll make sure to work hard and deliver my best.”
Unlike Chahal, Arshdeep was Right-to-match-ed back into the team after as many as six teams got into a bidding war for him. SRH almost got hold of the young southpaw when PBKS used RTM to get him back. However, SRH, the finalist from the last season, were not ready to give up on Arshdeep so they raised the price to INR 18 crore. This did not do much to deter PBKS, Arshdeep’s original franchise, from their plans with the left-arm pacer, and they stuck with him as their RTM even for INR 18 crore.
Ponting said that Arsdheep was one of Punjab’s first plans coming into the auction as his skillset was the perfect fit for the franchise.
“We had certain targets coming into the auction as every team does. Arshdeep was obviously the first one. He’s been in our franchise for a number of years. I was really keen to get him back. Left-arm fast bowler, obviously, with a great skill set with the new ball and the old ball and, you know, one of India’s leading wicket-takers in T20 cricket. So he was a perfect fit for us.” PBKS’ Head coach Ponting said.
Punjab also spent big bucks on Marcus Stoinis and Marco Jansen, roping them in for INR 11 crore and INR 7 crore each.
