'Delhi boys going to Punjab not new' - Twitter reacts cheekily as Kagiso Rabada bags INR 9.25 crore deal with Punjab Kings

Kagiso Rabada has been one of the finest quicks to have played the IPL and his reputation of being an impactful bowler has helped him find in finding a new team this season. The South African fast bowler was sold to Punjab Kings for a whopping INR 9.25 crore at the ongoing IPL 2022 mega auction. Rabada would once again be expected to showcase some remarkable performances with the ball in hand for the 2014 finalists in the upcoming season as their quest for a maiden IPL crown continues.

Meanwhile, Punjab Kings had only made two mandatory retentions on November 30, 2021, which included explosive opener Mayank Agarwal and promising left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh. The Proteas speedster would be looking forward to working in tandem with Arshdeep and making the new ball do the talking this time around. Kagiso Rabada’s inclusion would bolster PBKS’ pace attack and it remains to be seen how many more pacers would be roped in by the franchise at the two-day event.

Kagiso Rabada’s performances over the years

Rabada represented the Delhi franchise for five seasons. He was first roped in by them in the 2017 season. He played six matches that year and bagged six scalps. Despite that, Delhi showed faith in him and retained him at the 2018 IPL mega auction. However, a back injury ruled him out for the season.

A newly formed Delhi Capitals once again wanted the tall fast bowler in their scheme of things for the 2019 season and he obliged by registering 25 scalps from 12 games and finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker in that edition. Delhi managed to make the playoffs for the first time after 2012 where they lost to the eventual finalists Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 2.

The 2020 season turned out to be Kagiso Rabada’s best year in the IPL as he took 30 wickets from 17 matches and played an instrumental role in Delhi making a maiden final appearance where they went down to the Mumbai Indians. The South African was adjudged the Purple Cap winner of that edition.

The Proteas pacer spearhead nonetheless, looked a bit out of touch as compared to the previous two seasons managing just 15 scalps as DC were knocked out in Qualifier 2 losing to KKR in 2021. While his South African teammate Anrich Nortje was retained by the Capitals ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, they showed no interest in having Rabada on board.

Follow CricTracker’s IPL 2022 mega auction live blog here.

Here’s how Twitter reacted as Kagiso Rabada was picked by the Punjab Kings