By Subhayan Chakraborty
Overview
Another year, another freshly assembled squad and a new skipper for Punjab Kings with the hope of ending their title drought in the Indian Premier League (IPL). After moving on from Mayank Agarwal and Anil Kumble, PBKS will bank on the new skipper-coach duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Trevor Bayliss to produce the goods in the upcoming season.
PBKS have failed to reach the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons, the longest such dry spell for any IPL team. While fans have blamed it on the franchise hierarchy and their habit of constant chopping and changing, on paper, this PBKS side has all the ingredients to at least make it to the playoffs. That will depend on them closing out tight matches, unlike in previous seasons.
With a superb blend of youth and experience, including the requisite firepower needed in a T20 outfit, Punjab could enjoy a fruitful outing in IPL 2023.
Strengths and weaknesses
Let’s start with the strengths. Punjab Kings have some solid firepower in their batting unit. With the experienced Shikhar Dhawan, an IPL run-machine, at the top, Punjab may look at an in-form Prabhsimran Singh, who finished as the third-highest scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (320 runs from 9 innings), to open the batting with him. The middle order has the variety and muscle needed to post big totals. With the likes of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan and Jitesh Sharma, the top seven looks both stacked and scary.
Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar, Raj Bawa and Sikandar Raza, their other all-rounders, allow the Punjab outfit to try different bowling combinations while adding depth to the batting.
The bowling, too, looks extremely powerful with the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar expected to lead the charge.
However, this Punjab side will also miss Jonny Bairstow, one of the most dangerous T20 batters in the world. They also lack a quality second spinner in the squad to ease the burden on Chahar. That could come back to hurt the team.
Strategy Watch
Under the Mayank-Kumble combination, PBKS went all out with the bat and faltered in some crucial games. While the strategy of all-out attack has seen teams like England reap rewards in international cricket, it took time for them to master the high-risk, high-reward style. However, given the incredible squad depth, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if PBKS continue with the same tactics. But given how Bayliss revolutionised England’s approach to the white-ball game, expect a few surprises from him and Dhawan.
Impact Player Watch
How about using Matthew Short, the explosive Australian opener who was roped in as a replacement for the injured Bairstow, up top before replacing him with Rabada or vice versa? Short was named the Player of the Tournament in the Big Bash League after hammering 458 runs at a strike rate of 144.57 for Adelaide Strikers. Punjab should make use of his rich run of form.
Last Year
Punjab finished 6th with a record of 7 wins and 7 losses.
Best Finish
They were runners-up to KKR in 2014.
Likely Playing XI
Shikhar Dhawan (C), Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Rishi Dhawan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh.