Punjab Kings is one among the three existing teams to never have won the IPL title even once till date. The Punjab side has always been inconsistent. Punjab Kings let go of KL Rahul and retained only Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh ahead of the IPL 2022 Mega Auctions.
Punjab Kings made some impactful buys such as Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone and Rahul Chahar at the IPL 2022 Mega Auctions. They have managed to play the finals only once in 2014. Punjab will certainly want to go all the way this time around and claim their maiden IPL trophy.
Here are their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
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— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) February 13, 2022
Strengths
While Punjab Kings lost KL Rahul at the top, they have made amends with Shikhar Dhawan coming in. Dhawan has been a consistent performer in the IPL and is also vastly experienced. With the likes of Agarwal, Livingstone, Bairstow, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith, they have a power-packed batting line-up.
Further, Kagiso Rabada can be the answer to their search of a lead foreign pacer to be the leader of their bowling attack. Rabada has been consistently amongst the wickets and is a threat to any opposition. The addition of Livingstone and Odean Smith also adds to the strength of Punjab Kings.
Weaknesses
Punjab Kings do not have enough options when it comes to their spin department. Rahul Chahar is the only prominent spinner in the side. Further, there is also a lack of match-winners in the side. There are the likes of Rabada, Bairstow and Livingstone. However, there is not much experience to look forward to beyond these names. Punjab Kings may have missed a trick or two in this aspect during the IPL 2022 Mega Auctions.
Opportunities
Punjab Kings have always relied on their top-order in the past few IPL seasons. However, this time around, they seem to have a solid-looking middle order. The likes of Bairstow, Livingstone and Shahrukh Khan are indeed power hitters and destructive batters who can single-handedly win the side games. Therefore, they will have a great opportunity to be at their potential best this season, which could help Punjab take their game to the next level as well.
Threats
Punjab Kings lack quality pace options so to say. Apart from Rabada and Arshdeep Singh, there are not many frontline names. Rishi Dhawan can be an option, however, he is yet to prove himself in the IPL. Sandeep Sharma hasn’t been as impactful either. In addition, the fact that Rahul Chahar is the only lead spinner can also cause them problems.
Despite having quality in the side, Punjab Kings have always been inconsistent, which remains the biggest concern for the franchise once again. The inability to make right use of their resources is something they will want to put behind this time around.
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— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) March 6, 2022
Punjab Kings squad for IPL 2022
Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odeon Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell
Punjab Kings fixtures
Punjab will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening fixture of IPL 2022 on 27th March. They will play Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league stage encounter on 22nd May.
Punjab Kings Predicted XI
Mayank Agarwal (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Rishi Dhawan, Odean Smith, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
