3 Players Punjab Kings should have retained instead of the current retentions

Punjab Kings had been one of the most underperforming teams in the history of the Indian Premier League. They have had some great individual performers but they have historically failed to perform as a team. They have played the IPL final once in 2014 where they got defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders despite a hundred from Wriddhiman Saha.

They have been constantly changing their players every year. The successful IPL franchises like Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians believe in their core and get their players into a good space and try to make the most out of them. Punjab Kings have failed in the management of their players.

The likes of Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, and David Miller were the stand-out performers for PBKS in previous seasons but they got released by the franchise. KL Rahul was exceptional in the seasons he represented PBKS but he opted to part his ways with the franchise. They have retained Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh ahead of the mega auction 2022 and they missed some players who could be the assets for the franchise.

We will talk about 3 such Players who deserved to be retained by PBKS

1. KL Rahul

KL Rahul has been the highest runs scorer in IPL in the last five years. In the first game for PBKS, KL Rahul scored the fastest ever fifty in the history of IPL, and also in the last game that he played he scored an flamboyant 98 against CSK which was one of the best knocks in IPL 2021. He even impressed everyone with his leadership skills when he was handed over the captaincy of the team.

So far, he has played 94 IPL games in which he has 3273 runs at a superb average of 47.43. He has scored two hundreds for the franchise. He was the Orange Cap holder in IPL 2020. His performances have been spectacular in international cricket too and his technique is being praised since the start of his career.

In most of the games, he hadn’t gotten support from his teammates. He did everything for the franchise, he kept wickets, took some blinders while fielding, and captained the team as well. There is no doubt that he will be one of the most expensive players in the mega auction. With two new teams coming, let’s see which team’s jersey he will wear in IPL 2022.

2. Ravi Bishnoi

Ravi Bishnoi is a good and leg-spinner who can trouble the batters with his unpredictable variations. He is very young, raw, and unseen by many batters around the globe which can be very helpful for whichever team he plays for. The IPL has been of the leg-spinners so he could be a good option to have in the squad.

He could be a good option to be retained by Punjab Kings. He was in limelight from the 2018 under-19 World Cup where he was the highest wicket-taker. He is a leg-spinner who has an attitude of a fast bowler, you just can’t mess with him. His sharp coming googly is his main weapon which he uses often.

Ravi Bishnoi is only 21 years old and will get many opportunities to perform. He was given an IPL contract by Punjab Kings in the 2020 season and he ended the tournament with 12 wickets. He was also a contender to win the Emerging Player Award in that season. He played in the 2021 season too with Punjab Kings. He troubled many world-class batters and also took that catch in the 2021 season which everyone remembers. It was predicted that he will be retained.

3. Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan had a great Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021 where he took the responsibility to finish the games for Tamil Nadu. He is a strong guy who can slog the cricket ball to 75-80 yards effortlessly. He could be a good option to be given a place in the lower middle order. His main ability is increasing the rate of scoring runs when needed.

He stunned Social Media when he scored 79 runs in 39 balls against Karnataka to upstage his team to the semi-finals of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. His other highlight of the tournament was 66 off 35 balls against Mumbai in Tamil Nadu’s opening game of the tournament. He was just hitting the balls so well.

He was Part of the winning Tamil Nadu side in the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He scored 40 runs off just 19 balls in Quarter Final against Himachal Pradesh. He was with Punjab Kings in the IPL. He hasn’t performed as per his caliber but he is very promising. Every IPL team needs an Indian batter who can bat lower down the order and make runs at a rapid rate. He could be a very good option to keep in the side.