With a total of 72 players sold in the IPL 2024 auction held on December 19, a controversy broke out with the Punjab Kings as it seemed like they had bought the wrong player. The Preity Zinta-c0-owned franchise wanted to sign a player named Shashank Singh, but once the bidding process was completed they refused to accept him. The officials sitting at the PBKS auction table told the auctioneer that they had confused Shashank with another cricketer with the same name.
The franchise has issued a clarification on the various media reports circulating on social networks, in which it has been mentioned that BKS he has chosen the wrong Shashank Singh. Issuing a press release, the franchise stated that Shashank, whom they acquired, was already on their target list and there was confusion due to the same names of two players. In particular, PBKS got the player they wanted on the team.
Punjab Kings issue statement on Shashank Singh purchase
The press release said: “The media has reported that the Kings of Punjab mistakenly bought Shashank Singh. The Kings want to clarify that the player was always on our target list. The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. “We are delighted to have him on board and see him contribute to our success.”
🚨 Official update 🚨
Punjab Kings would like to clarify that Shashank Singh was always on our target list. The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. We are delighted to have him on board and see him contribute to our success.
– Kings of Punjab (@PunjabKingsIPL) December 20, 2023
The incident occurred during rush hour IPL 2024 auction and Punjab Kings were very excited to bring in boundless talented players. PBKS was able to poach Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Ashutosh Sharma at their base price of INR 20 lakh; However, when it was Shashank Singh’s turn, PBKS co-owner Preity Zinta raised the paddle and started bidding after a long discussion.
The bid received no competition from any other franchise and eventually auctioneer Mallika Sagar lowered the hammer to add another purchase for PBKS. As Mallika moved the next player on the set, the cameras moved to the PBKS table where the owners were a little bewildered.
Another co-owner of PBKS, Ness Wadia, along with Preity Zinta, raised their hands and signaled to the auctioneer. Mallika Sagar said: “Was it a wrong name? Don’t you want the player? We are talking about Shashank Singh. But the hammer has fallen. Players 236 and 237 were for you.”
While Ness Wadia explained his concern to Mallika Sagar, the IPL auctioneer stood his ground and said: “I think he has lowered the hammer for 237 (Shashank) as well.” Finally, Punjab Kings had to settle for one player.
What might have confused the Punjab Kings was that there were two players with the same name in the list with a base price of INR 20 lakh. Both Shashank Singhs are all-rounders and the one bought by PBKS played for SRH in the past and was not sold in last year’s auction.
Punjab Kings full squad after IPL 2024 auction
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.