Punjab Kings (PBKS) had a disappointing campaign last year and just like every year, parted ways with a lot of their players and even bought a new <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/social-tracker-cricket/ipl-2023-punjab-kings-appoint-sunil-joshi-as-spin-bowling-coach/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coaching</a> staff for the upcoming season. They released their former captain and opener, Mayank Agarwal, and did not buy him back in the recently concluded auction on December 23 in Kochi.

PBKS went for the rising all-rounder Sam Curran and roped him in for INR 18.50 crore, thereby making him the most expensive buy of all-time in the IPL history. However, the franchise could have opted for numerous other players who could have easily proved to be steal buys and would have added better value to the team.&nbsp;

The franchise already has potentially good fast bowlers like Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada alongside some gun batters in Jonny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone among others, hence spending such a huge sum of money on Curran was baffling to some extent. There were certainly different areas they could have improved upon going into the next season of the Indian Premier League.

Here are three players PBKS could’ve picked instead of Sam Curran

Ben Stokes is a more complete all-rounder as compared to Sam Curran. He is a reliable middle-order batter and has a knack of picking wickets by bowling tight lines and lengths at pace. His incredible fielding abilities also adds to his skill sets.&nbsp;

Stokes also would have come at a hefty price, but at the same time, the value he can add to a team is much more than what Sam Curran could potentially offer. Curran in the SA20 hasn’t been able to show his class. Whilst, Stokes has won two white-ball World Cups for his country and has shown what he can do when his team is under pressure.

Another reason why the Christchurch-born is a more complete option than Curran is his vast IPL experience. He previously played with Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiants, where he showed his class time and time again. His ability to snatch matches from the jaws of defeat is a characteristic only a few possess in cricket.

Over the 15 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), we have seen how much having a strong Indian core proves to be helpful over the course of a long season. IPL winning squads have had a good Indian contingent over the years and it can be very vital since a team has to play a minimum of seven Indian players in their line-up.

Looking at the Punjab Kings squad, the big Indian players are only Shikhar Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh and to some extent, Rahul Chahar. But apart from that, there is very less experience in their squad in terms of Indian flavour.

They could have gone for their former captain, Mayank Agarwal again, as he would have provided that much-needed experience in the line-up. He had a decent season with Punjab and could have been a key player for them in the top order.

Probably, they missed a trick by not buying him back for less money, and with him in the line-up, they could have removed one of the overseas batters.&nbsp;

If they would have spent some of the Sam Curran money on Agarwal, they could have had the option to purchase another quality spinner or a gun fast bowler. They could have picked the Karnataka batter for half the price they paid for Curran. Nonetheless, the opener will play for the Sunrisers Hyderabad this season.

Adam Zampa was bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 1.5 crore at this year’s IPL <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/tag/ipl-auction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">auction</a>. He would have been a splendid buy for Punjab Kings.

There is only one main spinner in the Punjab Kings line-up and that is not a good scenario because of rank turners in Chennai and Delhi, where playing two spinners is essential on most occasions. The experience of Zampa would have helped Punjab a lot and he could have even played ahead of Rahul Chahar as the leading spinner.&nbsp;

Zampa has been excellent in T20 cricket - both in franchise cricket as well as in international cricket. He has&nbsp; been decent in the ongoing Big Bash league as he has snared 13 scalps in 13 games at an economy rate of 7.21, while also leading his side.

His wicket-taking ability and the skill to choose right variation for opponents is a crucial factor that he brings along. Punjab would have been able to build a great playing XI, if they had a spinner like Zampa in their line-up for the upcoming edition.&nbsp;

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the<a href="https://apps.apple.com/in/app/crictracker/id6443913175"> IOS App Store</a> and<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.crictracker"> Google Play Store</a>

<quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

Punjab Kings (PBKS) had a disappointing campaign last year and just like every year, parted ways with a lot of their players and even bought a new <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/social-tracker-cricket/ipl-2023-punjab-kings-appoint-sunil-joshi-as-spin-bowling-coach/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coaching</a> staff for the upcoming season. They released their former captain and opener, Mayank Agarwal, and did not buy him back in the recently concluded auction on December 23 in Kochi.
PBKS went for the rising all-rounder Sam Curran and roped him in for INR 18.50 crore, thereby making him the most expensive buy of all-time in the IPL history. However, the franchise could have opted for numerous other players who could have easily proved to be steal buys and would have added better value to the team.&nbsp;
The franchise already has potentially good fast bowlers like Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada alongside some gun batters in Jonny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone among others, hence spending such a huge sum of money on Curran was baffling to some extent. There were certainly different areas they could have improved upon going into the next season of the Indian Premier League.
<h2>Here are three players PBKS could’ve picked instead of Sam Curran</h2>
<h3>1. Ben Stokes</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1665722271506_Ben-Stokes.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Ben Stokes is a more complete all-rounder as compared to Sam Curran. He is a reliable middle-order batter and has a knack of picking wickets by bowling tight lines and lengths at pace. His incredible fielding abilities also adds to his skill sets.&nbsp;
Stokes also would have come at a hefty price, but at the same time, the value he can add to a team is much more than what Sam Curran could potentially offer. Curran in the SA20 hasn’t been able to show his class. Whilst, Stokes has won two white-ball World Cups for his country and has shown what he can do when his team is under pressure.
Another reason why the Christchurch-born is a more complete option than Curran is his vast IPL experience. He previously played with Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiants, where he showed his class time and time again. His ability to snatch matches from the jaws of defeat is a characteristic only a few possess in cricket.

<h3>2. Mayank Agarwal</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/featureimage/CT_354680.jpg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Over the 15 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), we have seen how much having a strong Indian core proves to be helpful over the course of a long season. IPL winning squads have had a good Indian contingent over the years and it can be very vital since a team has to play a minimum of seven Indian players in their line-up.
Looking at the Punjab Kings squad, the big Indian players are only Shikhar Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh and to some extent, Rahul Chahar. But apart from that, there is very less experience in their squad in terms of Indian flavour.
They could have gone for their former captain, Mayank Agarwal again, as he would have provided that much-needed experience in the line-up. He had a decent season with Punjab and could have been a key player for them in the top order.
Probably, they missed a trick by not buying him back for less money, and with him in the line-up, they could have removed one of the overseas batters.&nbsp;
If they would have spent some of the Sam Curran money on Agarwal, they could have had the option to purchase another quality spinner or a gun fast bowler. They could have picked the Karnataka batter for half the price they paid for Curran. Nonetheless, the opener will play for the Sunrisers Hyderabad this season.

<h3>3. Adam Zampa</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1667458578870_Adam-Zampa.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Adam Zampa was bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 1.5 crore at this year’s IPL <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/tag/ipl-auction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">auction</a>. He would have been a splendid buy for Punjab Kings.
There is only one main spinner in the Punjab Kings line-up and that is not a good scenario because of rank turners in Chennai and Delhi, where playing two spinners is essential on most occasions. The experience of Zampa would have helped Punjab a lot and he could have even played ahead of Rahul Chahar as the leading spinner.&nbsp;
Zampa has been excellent in T20 cricket - both in franchise cricket as well as in international cricket. He has&nbsp; been decent in the ongoing Big Bash league as he has snared 13 scalps in 13 games at an economy rate of 7.21, while also leading his side.
His wicket-taking ability and the skill to choose right variation for opponents is a crucial factor that he brings along. Punjab would have been able to build a great playing XI, if they had a spinner like Zampa in their line-up for the upcoming edition.&nbsp;
For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the<a href="https://apps.apple.com/in/app/crictracker/id6443913175"> IOS App Store</a> and<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.crictracker"> Google Play Store</a>

Punjab Kings (PBKS) had a disappointing campaign last year and just like every year, parted ways with a lot of their players and even bought a new <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/social-tracker-cricket/ipl-2023-punjab-kings-appoint-sunil-joshi-as-spin-bowling-coach/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coaching</a> staff for the upcoming season. They released their former captain and opener, Mayank Agarwal, and did not buy him back in the recently concluded auction on December 23 in Kochi.
PBKS went for the rising all-rounder Sam Curran and roped him in for INR 18.50 crore, thereby making him the most expensive buy of all-time in the IPL history. However, the franchise could have opted for numerous other players who could have easily proved to be steal buys and would have added better value to the team.&nbsp;
The franchise already has potentially good fast bowlers like Arshdeep Singh and Kagiso Rabada alongside some gun batters in Jonny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone among others, hence spending such a huge sum of money on Curran was baffling to some extent. There were certainly different areas they could have improved upon going into the next season of the Indian Premier League.
<h2>Here are three players PBKS could’ve picked instead of Sam Curran</h2>
<h3>1. Ben Stokes</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1665722271506_Ben-Stokes.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
Ben Stokes is a more complete all-rounder as compared to Sam Curran. He is a reliable middle-order batter and has a knack of picking wickets by bowling tight lines and lengths at pace. His incredible fielding abilities also adds to his skill sets.&nbsp;
Stokes also would have come at a hefty price, but at the same time, the value he can add to a team is much more than what Sam Curran could potentially offer. Curran in the SA20 hasn’t been able to show his class. Whilst, Stokes has won two white-ball World Cups for his country and has shown what he can do when his team is under pressure.
Another reason why the Christchurch-born is a more complete option than Curran is his vast IPL experience. He previously played with Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiants, where he showed his class time and time again. His ability to snatch matches from the jaws of defeat is a characteristic only a few possess in cricket.

<h3>2. Mayank Agarwal</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/featureimage/CT_354680.jpg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
Over the 15 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), we have seen how much having a strong Indian core proves to be helpful over the course of a long season. IPL winning squads have had a good Indian contingent over the years and it can be very vital since a team has to play a minimum of seven Indian players in their line-up.
Looking at the Punjab Kings squad, the big Indian players are only Shikhar Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh and to some extent, Rahul Chahar. But apart from that, there is very less experience in their squad in terms of Indian flavour.
They could have gone for their former captain, Mayank Agarwal again, as he would have provided that much-needed experience in the line-up. He had a decent season with Punjab and could have been a key player for them in the top order.
Probably, they missed a trick by not buying him back for less money, and with him in the line-up, they could have removed one of the overseas batters.&nbsp;
If they would have spent some of the Sam Curran money on Agarwal, they could have had the option to purchase another quality spinner or a gun fast bowler. They could have picked the Karnataka batter for half the price they paid for Curran. Nonetheless, the opener will play for the Sunrisers Hyderabad this season.

<h3>3. Adam Zampa</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1667458578870_Adam-Zampa.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
Adam Zampa was bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 1.5 crore at this year’s IPL <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/tag/ipl-auction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">auction</a>. He would have been a splendid buy for Punjab Kings.
There is only one main spinner in the Punjab Kings line-up and that is not a good scenario because of rank turners in Chennai and Delhi, where playing two spinners is essential on most occasions. The experience of Zampa would have helped Punjab a lot and he could have even played ahead of Rahul Chahar as the leading spinner.&nbsp;
Zampa has been excellent in T20 cricket - both in franchise cricket as well as in international cricket. He has&nbsp; been decent in the ongoing Big Bash league as he has snared 13 scalps in 13 games at an economy rate of 7.21, while also leading his side.
His wicket-taking ability and the skill to choose right variation for opponents is a crucial factor that he brings along. Punjab would have been able to build a great playing XI, if they had a spinner like Zampa in their line-up for the upcoming edition.&nbsp;
For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the<a href="https://apps.apple.com/in/app/crictracker/id6443913175"> IOS App Store</a> and<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.crictracker"> Google Play Store</a>
<quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>

Punjab Kings (PBKS) had a disappointing campaign last year and just like every year, parted ways with a lot of their players and even bought a new coaching staff for the upcoming season. They released

3 Players Punjab could have bought instead of Sam Curran

Sam Curran became the most expensive player ever at the IPL auction 2023 after Punjab roped him in for INR 18.50 crore.

IPL 2023: 3 players PBKS could’ve picked instead of Sam Curran

Sam Curran was the most expensive player ever purchased at the IPL Auction when he was acquired by Punjab Kings at the IPL 2023 auction. Today, we take a look at some alternative players they could have purchased at the auction instead of Curran.