Punjab Kings, is one of the three teams who has never won a single IPL title in 14 attempts. This tournament was Punjab’s eighth successive exit in the group stage itself. Punjab approached IPL 2022 with a squad that was completely changed from 2021. Only Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep were retained by the franchise. Rahul, the previous captain, opted to try his luck in the open auction and hence was released by the management. Nonetheless, the result did not change. This is a review of Punjab Kings in IPL 2022.
The failure of Mayank Agarwal
It was really a surprise when Punjab named Mayank Agarwal as the captain. It wasn’t like they did not have an option. Infact, they did, in the form of Shikhar Dhawan. Afterall, Shikhar had been the captain of the Indian team itself and did reasonably well. Mayank on the otherhand, had been Rahul’s deputy last year. The management must have thought of giving one of their own the captaincy rather than giving it to someone whom they had picked in the auction. RCB did not do that. They picked Faf Plessis so that he can be made the captain. All I am saying is that Mayank himself is finding his feet at the international scene.
His performances for India off late have not been that impressive. He is seriously struggling for his spot and to make him captain of Punjab was not the correct decision. I do understand that IPL and international cricket are worlds apart but to make someone who is short of confidence the captain was plain wrong. Especially, when you have picked someone with immense experience in Dhawan.
Nevertheless, Mayank wasn’t amongst the runs. Was it either because of captaincy or his lack of form, is difficult to guess but Punjab suffered greatly because of his form. That too, as an opening bat, it places an enormous amount of pressure on the rest of the batsmen.
Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith
Against Gujarat Titans, Odean Smith had the luxury of defending 19 runs of the last over. It is not a daunting task though not an easy one either. Of the final 2 deliveries, the equation was in the favour of Punjab with 12 needed. Smith bowled a couple of juicy half-volleys that Tewatia dispatched quite effortlessly. He did not get that many opportunities in the latter half of the tournament.
Another player who failed to deliver was Shahrukh Khan. Just before the IPL, he displayed his hitting prowess for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji league game. He was in good form but a string of low scores and failure to convert starts into significant innings, hurt Punjab decisively. His highest score was 22. For someone who was brought for a price tag of 9CR, his returns did not justify the means.
The highlight of the season
Will undoubtedly be their very first game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Set an imposing target of 208 to win, they achieved the win with utter ease. The fearless batting that they showcased on that day would have made other teams to take note of them but it did not transform like that. When a team chases a tall target right in their first game, it must give the team tremendous confidence but for some reason, Punjab regressed from that point though they managed to finish as the 6th best team, they never had the ring around them.
Liam Livingstone and Dhawan
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Punjab. There were some standout performers. Livingstone and Dhawan. Having been dropped from the Indian T20 side for a very longtime now, Dhawan had a point to prove to the Indian selectors. He did that in great style. It must have given him a great deal of confidence but an Indian spot in T20 is probably out of reach forever.
Livingstone was an expensive buy at the auction. More than 11CR. Nevertheless, it must be said that he did justify that high price tag with a solid performance. More than 400 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 187 is good by any standards, especially when his batting position is taken into account. Not only did he blast the opponents but he also contributed with the ball with crucial wickets.
Conclusion to review of Punjab Kings in IPL 2022
Punjab for some reason is not able to progress onto the next stage and win the tournament. Eight successive group stage exit will surely affect the confidence of any side. It remains to be seen whether Punjab will be able to dust off and restart afresh in the next season. They are long overdue for a title. They have the personnel to contribute to the team’s success. Liam Livingstone, Dhawan, Shahrukh Khan & Bairstow are four destructive players. If all of them hit the ground running at the sametime, the opposition must be wary. These batsmen must play the maximum number of overs to maximise the total.
Rishi Dhawan is a decent allrounder and Jitesh Sharma is good as the finisher. They also have a good bowling attack in Rabadda and Arshdeep. In all, Punjab Kings does have the nucleus of a good side but years to no qualifying even for the playoffs is wearing the players down. Perhaps, the management is placing too much pressure on the players to qualify which is having a negative impact. Perhaps, a change in captaincy during the next season might just do the trick. The potential is there but the execution is faulty. The Punjab team’s management will do well to ensure that the plans are executed perfectly.
Let us also remember that Punjab alongwith Delhi and Bangalore are the only teams not to have won a single IPL title in 14 attempts. It is bloat on the record. Who among the three will finally be able to win that coveted first title is difficult to guess at the moment. Amongst them, Punjab have more destructive batsmen but will they standup to be counted?