Punjab Kings entered the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with a lot of optimism considering they had one of the strongest squads on paper. As per many pundits, they were one of the favourites to qualify for the playoffs, if not win the title. However, it was another season of missed opportunities for the Shikhar Dhawan-led unit.
What we predicted
Going by the squad strength, depth and balance, RevSportz had predicted that Punjab Kings would be one of the sure-shot playoff contenders with a chance of landing their maiden IPL title. An cxperienced captain-opener in Dhawan, some promising local talents, strong finishers, good spin and pace attack – these were some of the reasons why we had predicted that Punjab would do well. But it all came crashing down when the team hit the field for games.
Where they finished
Punjab Kings finished eighth in the points table with just six wins from14 games. Overall, it was a highly disappointing season for them, despite a squad full of superstars and rising talents from the domestic circuit.
What went right?
Prabhsimran Singh, the Punjab opener, had a solid season with the bat, scoring 358 runs, including a century. The attacking opener enjoyed pairing up with Dhawan, who ended as Punjab’s top-scorer with 373 runs. Jitesh Sharma too lit up the season with his intent down the order, and it would be no surprise if he earned his national cap in the shortest format of the game.
What went wrong?
Sam Curran, the English all-rounder who was signed up for a whopping Rs 18.50 crore, had a disappointing campaign given that price tag. He managed just 276 runs and ended up with 10 wickets to his name. Curran, and even the fans, would have expected a lot better. Furthermore, Rahul Chahar, their leg-spinner, had a poor campaign with just eight wickets to his name from 14 games.
Saving Grace
Jitesh (309 runs), Sikandar Raza (139 runs and 3 wickets), Prabhsimran and Arshdeep Singh (17 wickets) were the only names who stood out for Punjab, apart from Dhawan. Given how he surprised the opposition and the century he made on a sticky wicket in Delhi, we’ll go for Prabhsimran.
Flop show
Kagiso Rabada, the experienced South African pacer, was arguably the worst bowler for Punjab in this IPL with seven wickets from six games at an economy rate of 10.08. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who was one of the standout players for Punjab last season, had a poor start to the campaign before he was benched. He managed just 71 runs in four matches. Even Dhawan’s captaincy was questionable on a few occasions – dropping Raza twice after he had bagged player of the match awards, giving Harpreet Brar the ball when left-hand batter were at the crease, or sending an inexperienced player like Atharva Taide in crunch situations despite the squad having other seasoned campaigners.
Given how he was expected to carry the bowling and make vital breakthroughs, however, this dubious honour goes to Rabada.