3 changes Punjab Kings should make to get back to winning ways

It was a ‘so close yet so far’ moment for the hosts Punjab Kings as they lost to Rajasthan Royals in a low-scoring thriller on Saturday, April 13. Both teams played the 27th match of the ongoing IPL 2024 at the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. RR won the toss and invited Sam Curran's men to bat first.

Amidst the struggling batting of Punjab Kings, it was Ashutosh Sharma who smashed 31 runs off just 16 balls to take his team to a respectable total of 147 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Later in the second innings, Punjab Kings’ bowlers showed a fighting intent but RR held their nerves and crossed the line in this low-scoring thriller to clinch their fifth win in the tournament.

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Here are three changes Punjab Kings should make to get back to winning ways -

1. Promoting Shashank Singh up in the order

The 32-year-old batter is currently the second-highest run-scorer for Punjab Kings in the ongoing IPL 2024, with 146 runs in six innings of the six matches with four not-outs to his name. He has a sensational average of 73.00, alongside a strike rate of 184.81, including a half-century.

But the use of Shashank Singh has not been that impressive by the Punjab Kings management as he comes to bat down the order mostly at number 6. So, promoting the blistering batter up in the order might be a helpful change for the Kings to ensure their revival in the tournament.

2. Drop Prabhsimran Singh

The young wicketkeeper-batter has been trusted by Punjab Kings at the very crucial batting position of number 3. But he has not impressed enough with the bat; he has scored only 119 runs in six innings for PBKS so far in the tournament.

The 23-year-old has a very poor average of 19.83 and a strike rate of 140.00. With that said, dropping Prabhsimran Singh for the next few matches might provide extra space to promote an in-form batter at number 3 to get some success to stay alive in the tournament.

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3. Changing the batting order of Liam Livingstone

The star England batter has played four matches out of the six matches PBKS have played in IPL 2024; he has scored 104 runs in four innings, with two not-outs, having an average of 52.00 and a strike rate of 160.00. But the PBKS have sent him most of the time down in the lower-middle order.

So, the Punjab Kings management also needs to fix this concern by changing the batting order of Liam Livingstone and using him either at number 4 or number 5 in the middle order.