Shikhar Dhawan might win the Orange Cap in IPL 2022: Aakash Chopra

Former India opener, Aakash Chopra, feels that Punjab Kings (PBKS) will make their way into the play-offs and find their way into the top-four spots this season. PBKS built their squad from the ground up as they bought a bunch of good players at the two-day mega auction.

Chopra, on his YouTube channel, was seen sharing his thoughts on where PBKS would end up on the points table and predicted the highest run-scorer and wicket-taker for the team.

“Shikhar Dhawan will be the leading run-scorer for Punjab Kings. There is a possibility that he might win the Orange Cap in the process as well. Rabada will be the leading wicket-taker, he might win the Purple Cap as well. Highest strike rate is a close call between Agarwal, Livingstone, and Shahrukh, but I think it’ll be Livingstone. I think they should finish in the top four, they have the team to do so.”

The team will be even better after Bairstow returns: Aakash Chopra

PBKS had the biggest purse before the start of the mega auction as they had retained only two of their players, Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh while releasing the rest. The PBKS table was the most active one during the auction, as they aimed for most of the players to build a powerful squad.

Chopra also predicted the probable playing XI for PBKS for their first game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He said: “Dhawan and Mayank to open the innings. They might be the most consistent opening pair. With Bairstow not there for the first couple of matches, they will have to play Prabhsimran Singh at No. 3. Then comes Liam Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan, then Benny Howell at No. 6. Odean Smith, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Sandeep Sharma, and Arshdeep as the bowlers. This team will be even better after Bairstow returns.”

Punjab Kings’ IPL journey has been very topsy-turvy as they’ve faced a lot of re-grouping in terms of the coaches and players over the years.