IPL 2022: PBKS co-owner drops hint on the franchise's potential captaincy choice

Ever since the IPL mega auction concluded for the Punjab Kings, their fans have been curious to know as to who would be leading the team come March. When Mayank Agarwal was retained by the franchise prior to the auction, many believed for him to be that candidate. However, after the Kings’ bought Shikhar Dhawan at the auction table, there have been reports that the southpaw might overtake Agrawal as the final choice.

And now, Mohit Burman, the Co-owner of the Kings, could well have dropped a hint as to whom the reigns might be going to. Reading between Burman’s lines from a recent interview, many believe that Agarwal has pipped Dhawan as the franchise’s choice.

“I think it’s a big advantage to have a senior player who has played with you before to lead the team. He understands the thinking of the coach,” said Burman to News9 Sports.

Mayank Agrawal was picked up by the franchise in 2018 and has since been a vital cog in the wheel for them. Over the last few seasons, Agrawal had established himself as part of a formidable opening pair with his fellow teammate from Karnataka and former skipper of the franchise, KL Rahul. He had also led the team for one of the games in IPL 2021 in the absence of KL Rahul.

“He has a good rapport with the coaches and the idea is to give him a strong bunch of players who fill up all the positions,” he added

Shikhar Dhawan is another strong candidate for PBKS captaincy

The Kings were lauded by various analysts and cricketing pundits as one of the teams that were the most comprehensive in their strategy at the auction table. Punjab won a successful bid to buy the seasoned campaigner in Shikhar Dhawan for Rs 8.25 crore. They also retained young fast bowler, Arshdeep Singh, who had shown great potential last season.

“Our strategy was to put very strong lieutenants in every position so it would be much easier for the captain to not only lead but be a team player. Therefore, I wanted to give an equal playing side which will come across as a strong team than to have one strong leader.” Commented Burman on the final squad

The Kings spent a total of Rs 86.55 crore towards building their squad. The most expensive buy for them was the Englishman, Liam Livingstone, for whom they shelled out a whopping Rs 11.5 crore. They also broke the bank for South African fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada, spending Rs 9.25 crore on him.