2022 Indian Premier League Team Preview: Delhi Capitals

2Since qualifying the finals of 2014 Indian Premier League, the franchise has failed to make it to the playoffs of the competition. Last year, Punjab suffering from inconsistency and reliant on one or two players to deliver the goods. In the previous edition of IPL, Kings claimed 12 points from 14 matches played in the competition.

In this year’s IPL Auction, Punjab Kings made some notable acquisitions as they signed England batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone for a whopping fee of 11.5 crore. South African pacer Kagiso Rabada has been bought for a fee of 9.25 crore by Punjab to strengthen the pace resources. Besides Livingstone and Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Odean Smith, Rahul Chahar and Bhanuka Rajpaksa are notable player signed by franchise for the coming season.

With the team owners and management aiming for a complete revamp as Mayank Agarwal has been appointed as captain of the franchise for the coming season. With Lokesh Rahul leaving the franchise, it was obvious that Agarwal would take over the leadership role for Punjab Kings.

Opening batsman Mayank Agarwal and left-arm medium-pacer Arshdeep Singh are premier players retained by Punjab Kings for the upcoming IPL season.

Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow and Shahrukh Khan are key players that will need to contribute with the bat for Punjab Kings this season.

The franchise has also plenty of experience in the batting department with Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow in the squad.

Opener Mayank Agarwal has been a bankable performer at the top of the innings and would need to do the bulk of the scoring for the side. The right-handed batsman showed decent form with the bat in the previous edition of the league and would be keen to continue his good form in this year’s Indian Premier League.

Odean Smith, Benny Howell and Rishi Dhawan are three genuine all-rounders in the setup for the coming IPL season. Odean Smith showed decent with the bat for West Indies national cricket team earlier this year. Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma and Kagiso Rabada are experienced options in the bowling department for the franchise. The overseas signings of Rahul Chahar, Nathan Ellis, Ishan Porel and Kagiso Rabada will add much needed potency to the bowling attack.

The batting department will have to show consistency if Punjab Kings aims to become serious challengers for the covered trophy in the 15^th edition of Indian Premier League.

Players to watch out for

There is no doubt that pacer Arshdeep Singh is premier bowler for the side for the coming season of Indian Premier League. Last year, Arshdeep Singh bowled exceedingly and finished the competition with 18 wickets to his name. He certainly has the ability to create crucial breakthroughs with new and old ball.

Giving his ability to bowl well with the old and new ball, Arshdeep will be keen to do well in the 2022 Indian Premier League.

After accumulating 441 runs in 12 matches at an average of 40.09 with four half-centuries to his name, Mayank Agarwal will be looking to put in splendid batting performances for Punjab Kings in the coming IPL season. New-appointed captain Mayank Agarwal will be looking to get his side off to good starts in the Power play overs.

Punjab Kings

Likely XI: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Shahrukh Khan,  Harpreet Brar, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma.