Punjab Kings entered the IPL 2024 Auction with a budget of 29.10 crore rupees. During the auction, they spent 24.95 crore to acquire 8 players. Their top three bids were for Harshal Patel, Rilee Russow, and Chris Woakes. The remaining 5 players are uncapped, and the team spent 20 lakh on each of them. Unfortunately, one of these players, Shashank Singh, was unintentionally acquired by PBKS.
Punjab Kings commits a blunder during Shashank Singh’s Bid
During the auction, Auctioneer Mallika Sagar presented Shashank Singh for bidding, and Punjab Kings were the sole bidders, raising the paddle for him. They successfully secured the player for 20 lakh rupees. However, the team soon realized that Shashank Singh was not the intended player they were supposed to acquire. Following the deal, team owners Preity Zinta and Nes Wadia engaged in a discussion with PBKS staff.
Before the auctioneer could announce the next player, Nes Wadia intervened and requested to cancel the deal. However, the auctioneer refused to cancel the bid, citing that it would go against the auction rules. Mallika Sagar stated, “The hammer has come down; the player no. 237 (Shashank Singh) has been bought by you.
Fantastic scenes here as the notoriously inept Punjab Kings manage to not only purchase a player they didn’t want, (Shashank Singh), they also admit to this in front of literally everyone. Singh we can guess is sat at home wondering whether to show up in March. #IPLAuction #pbks pic.twitter.com/PtLQv9t07H
— Punjab Kings UK🇬🇧👑 (@PunjabKingsUK) December 19, 2023
Who is Cricketer Shashank Singh?
Shashank Singh plays domestic cricket for Chhatisgarh. He is a batting all-rounder who was a part of Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in five different IPL seasons. Now, Punjab Kings is his 4th IPL team.
Ik hor 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡 included to #SaddaSquad! 🦁#IPL2024Auction #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #JazbaHaiPunjabi pic.twitter.com/I0ON3p1DSa
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) December 19, 2023
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During his IPL career, the 32-year-old cricketer has played only for Sunrisers Hyderabad, in the 2022 season. In 10 matches for SRH, he faced 47 balls, scoring 69 runs. His bowling opportunities were limited to just two overs for the season, in which he conceded 20 runs. While PBKS may have unintentionally acquired Shashank Singh, he could prove to be a valuable asset if given the opportunity in the right position. With the ability to hit big shots, he has the potential to perform well down the order
