IPL 2022: Predicting first-choice overseas players of Punjab Kings

After finishing sixth in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL), Punjab Kings (PBKS) entered the 2022 mega auction with the highest purse value of INR 72 crore after they retained only two players including Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh.

The franchise bagged up 23 players in the auction, including some big international stars for their squad including Kagiso Rabada, Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone among some other big names. Indian right-handed batter Mayank Agarwal has been given the responsibility to lead Punjab Kings in the upcoming IPL 2022.

Here are four first-choice overseas players of Punjab Kings:

1. Kagiso Rabada 

South African ace pacer Kagiso Rabada was the first player to be purchased by PBKS in the mega auction. Rabada represented the Delhi Capitals in three IPL seasons, but they released him ahead of the auction. With a base price of INR 2 crore, Rabada fetched a huge amount of INR 9.25 crore from the franchise. The 26-year old South African fast bowler had been performing exceedingly well for DC and will look to emulate his performance for the new franchise as well.

It is a well-known fact that Punjab have underperformed in the last few seasons of the tournament and of the prominent reason for that has been the lack of a good bowling attack. However, Rabada along with Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh will look to provide early breakthroughs for the franchise.

Talking about numbers, Rabada has scalped 76 wickets in 50 IPL games he has played. The right-arm pacer will has a decent strike rate of 15.0 going at an economy of 8.21. Rabada will be the first choice for PBKS to lead their bowling attack.

2. Jonny Bairstow 

Explosive batter Jonny Bairstow was another good pick by the Punjab Kings as they managed to purchase the English wicketkeeper-batter for an amount of INR 6.75 crore at the mega auction. A bidding war took place between Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, PBKS won the battle in the end. Bairstow has represented Sunrisers Hyderabad for the past three seasons and has provided explosive starts for the franchise along with his former partners David Warner and Kane Williamson.

Being a wicketkeeper, Bairstow can easily be slotted in any side as he is fit enough to keep and open the innings for his team as well. The wicketkeeper-batter has played 28 matches in the IPL and scored 1038 runs with an amazing strike rate of 142.19.

The 32-year old is one of the fastest batters to complete 1000 runs in the tournament history as well. Talking about his T20I career, Bairstow has represented England in 63 T20I matches and has amassed a total of 1190 runs at a good strike rate of 135.84.

3. Liam Livingstone 

Team England is among the top limited over cricket teams going around right now. One of the prominent reasons for that is the firepower they possess in their batting order going from top to bottom. One of them is Liam Livingstone who can tonk the ball long and hard. As a result, as many as five franchises have shown interest in the batter to rope him in the mega auction.

In the end, Punjab Kings managed to bag Livingstone at a heavy amount of INR 11.25 crore. The England all-rounder became the costliest overseas player in the 2022 auction. The 28-year-old is a multi-skill player as he can bat at the top or in the middle order.

Livingstone has also proved himself as a handy off-spinner and he is also a gun fielder. The all-rounder is a complete package for a team. Talking about his numbers in the international arena, Livingstone has played 17 T20I matches in which he has scored 285 runs and has taken 13 wickets as well.

4. Odean Smith

West Indies have always produced some of the biggest hitters of the ball and Odean Smith is one of the newest entrants in the list. The West Indian all-rounder had shown his abilities in the recently completed ODI series against the men in blue. The 25-year-old is a handy pace bowler and more than handy with the bat lower down the order.

With the bat, Smith can do some proper damage to any bowling line-up. That’s the reason PBKS were keen on getting him in their team. The franchise spent INR 6 crore to secure his services and he will be one of the favorites to feature the starting line-up of PBKS.

Talking about his international career, Smith has played a total of ten T20 matches for the West Indies. Even though he has only managed to score 53 runs at an average of 10.6, the right-handed batter has a massive strike rate of 155.88. In bowling, Smith has scalped a total of seven wickets for his country.