Did Punjab Kings commit a MISTAKE by buying wrong player with same name? Team clarifies on rumors

Many fans believed that Punjab Kings had purchased the wrong Shashank Singh, confusing the two players during the auction.

Did Punjab Kings commit a MISTAKE by buying wrong player with same name? Team clarifies on rumors

Punjab Kings purchased the correct Shashank Singh, contrary to what the fans thought. (Images via IPL)

During the 2024 IPL Auction, Punjab Kings bought Shashank Singh, the batter from Chattisgarh for the base price of ₹20 Lakh. After the auctioneer gave the PBKS contingent a safe warning, Mallika Sagar hit her hammer and sold Singh to the franchise. Moments later, PBKS owners Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta looked confused and had a discussion amongst themselves. 

They told Sagar that they wanted to put Singh back in the Auction as they purchased the wrong player. Their original target was the 20-year-old Shashank Singh, and they bought the wrong one. But Sagar informed the PBKS contingent that the hammer was now down and she cannot reverse the purchase. 

YouTube video

While many thought they did purchase the wrong player, Punjab released a statement in which they clarified that they were aiming to purchase the 32-year-old and not the 20-year-old. The rumors of them buying the wrong players was fake and they did not commit any mistakes in the Auction. The player publicly thanked the franchise for their support of him on his X as well.

https://twitter.com/Guri_Pbks/status/1737466837456351529?s=20

Punjab Kings IPL Auction 

Punjab Kings went into the IPL Auction with a purse of ₹29.1 crore, with 17 players retained. They needed to buy 8 players and had the resources to do so. Their first purchase of the Auction was the 2021 IPL Purple cap winner, Harshal Patel. Patel, who was important for Haryana’s Vijay Hazare Trophy victory, was purchased for ₹11.75 crore. 

Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings during the IPL Auction (Image via IPL)

They later purchased Chris Woakes for ₹4.2 crore, with PBKS and KKR bidding for his services. They purchased 5 uncapped players, all for their base price of only ₹20 lakh and their last purchase was Rilee Russow for ₹8 crore. 

Name Base priceFinal priceRole CountyStatus 
Harshal Patel₹2 cr₹11.75 crAll-rounderIndiaCapped
Rilee Russow ₹2 cr₹8 crBatterSouth AfricaCapped
Chris Woakes₹2 cr₹4.2 crAll-rounderEngland Capped
Prince Choudhary ₹20 Lakh₹20 LakhBowlerIndiaUncapped
Tanay Thyagarajan₹20 Lakh₹20 LakhAll-rounderIndiaUncapped
Shashank Singh₹20 Lakh₹20 LakhBatterIndiaUncapped
Vishwanath Singh₹20 Lakh₹20 LakhAll-rounderIndiaUncapped
Ashutosh Singh ₹20 Lakh₹20 LakhAll-rounderIndiaUncapped

PBKS Auction summary 

  • Players retained: 17 
  • Purse: ₹29.1 crore 
  • Players purchased: 8
  • Amount spent: ₹25.95
  • Purse left: ₹4.15 crore 
  • Capped players in squad: 14
  • Uncapped: 11

PBKS squad for IPL 2024: 

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajann, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw. 

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