The Indian Premier League (IPL) last season was exciting. The previous edition saw some mind-boggling run chases and some low-scoring thrillers as well. The batters enjoyed a lot in the last season. Throughout the season a record amount of sixes were being hit and it saw many records being broken. The rich cash league will be entering its 18th edition next season.
There has been a discussion over the retention of the players for the upcoming season. As of now, there will be a mega auction for the upcoming. The 10 teams will need to reshuffle the squad. They can only retain four of their players and use one Right-To-Match Card. They will have the chance to buy out their former players. More cricketers will be going under the hammer than the usual numbers as the teams need to rebuild almost from scratch. There will be an exciting battle at the auction table as well.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) over 17 years have failed to win the silverware. The closest they came in the 2014 final when they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). That season they played some excellent brands of cricket. Since then they have tried and tested a lot of captains but have failed. In the 18th season, they will have some tough choices to keep and make way for the players. We will take a look at the players that will be retained by the side.
Here are the 4 players retained by Punjab Kings
4. Ashutosh Sharma
Ashutosh Sharma has been one of the best findings in the previous edition of the tournament. Sharma took the finisher role in the team and he surprised everyone with his finishing skills. He featured in 11 games scoring 189 runs at a strike rate over 169. He will be retained by the franchise for the upcoming season.
3. Shashank Singh
Shashank Singh’s story for PBKS has been an inspiring one. The batter was brought by mistake in the auction by the franchise and they thought of never letting him give a chance in the team. But as Shashank got his first call for the side he did not disappoint and was the pillar in the middle overs for the side. Came in as a surprise package. He scored 354 runs with a strike rate of 164.65.
2. Sam Curran
Sam Curran has captained the side while Shikhar Dhawan was away with injury. Despite his inexperience with leadership roles, he did well in the last season. But failed to lead the team to the qualifiers. Under his captaincy, they finished 9th in the league table. Curran was brought with a hefty amount of 18.5 crore. He scored 270 runs and picked 16 wickets last season.
1. Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh is the local boy for the franchise. The young Indian pacer has been impressive over the years. Arshdeep has been their main wicket-taking bowler with the new ball and in the death as well. His ability to swing the new ball and bowling yorkers and slower ones towards the end makes him special. He will be retained by the side.
