IPL 2021: Punjab Kings hand debuts to Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith and Shahrukh Khan

IPL 2021: Punjab Kings hand debuts to Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith and Shahrukh Khan

Jhye Richardson

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have handed debuts to Aussie pacers Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith and Indian all-rounder Shahrukh Khan for their match against Rajasthan Royals (RR). PBKS have gone into the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a completely new look with regard to their team name, logo and kit. They also went for a plethora of new signings at the auction.

They acquired Jhye Richardson for a sum of Rs. 14 crores. They also went for a similar pacer in Riley Meredith for 8 crores. Highly rated Tamil Nadu all-rounder Shahrukh Khan was bought for Rs. 5.25 crores. There were other buys in the form of Moises Henriques, Fabian Allen, Dawid Malan and Jalaj Saxena. The four don’t feature today against RR however, and would be keen to prove their worth later in the tournament when they get chances.

Punjab Kings put in to bat

Riley Meredith
Riley Meredith

Meanwhile, at the toss, new captain of RR, Sanju Samson opted to field first and said, “We are going to bowl first. We have challenges to face while picking the XI. Morris, Stokes, Buttler, Mustafizur are our overseas players. Very excited about the role.“

Punjab captain KL Rahul said, “We all know the history of Wankhede. Everyone wants to bowl first. But we would want to play good cricket. We can’t really pinpoint anything particular. It is about the batting group helping the bowling group and vice versa. We were really happy with the auctions. Meredith, Richardson, Gayle and Pooran are our foreign players.“

With a plethora of such debutants featuring, the match could turn out to be a cracker.

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