Ahead of the highly-anticipated auctions for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League ( IPL ), Punjab Kings announced batters Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh as their player retentions for the coming edition. Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon said they wanted to build their core players at the auction along with some from the 2024 squad.
“We have a plan in place for adding to the core. You will see a lot more surprises as well. You will see the core group forming and we are confident we will go all out and make a big play this season,” he said.
Prabhsimran Singh has been with Punjab since 2019 and over the past six years, the wicketkeeper has scored 756 runs in 34 games at an average of 22.24 and a strike rate of 146.23. Meanwhile, Shashank Singh emerged as one of the key players for the team last season, scoring an impressive 354 runs in 14 games at an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of 164.65.
“We have seen Prabhsimran develop over the last six years. He is a player that we have put a lot of faith in. We have seen him bloom. He played some fantastic innings last year. We believe he is on the cusp of breaking into the big leagues,” Menon said.
“As far as Shashank is concerned, he is known for his batting at multiple positions in the order. He showed his mettle last season. He continues with the same style and passion. That was one of the big reasons why we retained him. He is a gun fielder. And these two players are the best fits for us,” he further added.
Earlier this year, Punjab Kings announced Ricky Ponting as the Head Coach for the coming season, and Satish Menon hinted that the Aussie legend will bring in new and fresh ideas at the upcoming auctions. He further added that his side will eye the trophy this season.
“This auction will be critical as we go there with maximum purse. We will build on what we have at the moment. It will be an interesting auction, especially for us, as we also have a new coach in Ricky Ponting. He is one of the sharpest minds in cricket. You will see us develop an extraordinary team. Our goal is to go for silverware this year – nothing short of that,” he signed off.
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