Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has spoken about Punjab Kings ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. The auction will be held in Dubai on December 19. They have retained 19 players and have 8 spots to fill, two of which are foreign spots.
The Punjab Kings have a purse of Rs 29.1 million left to buy the number of players they have. As a franchise, we have made some controversial retention decisions over the years. PBKS has retained six foreign players ahead of the IPL 2024 auction and still has two spots to fill.
Jonny Bairstow, Livingstone, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada and Nathan Ellis are the six foreign players they have retained. Irfan Pathan believes the Kings could play only one of the two, given the team’s formation in the upcoming season.
Also Read: Watch: Suryakumar Yadav hands over trophy to Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma after winning Australia T20Is
“They have Sikandar Raza in the backup. I want to see him play regularly. They will have to make this difficult decision. It will be between Liam Livingstone or Sikandar Raza because they both have quite similar skills,” Pathan said on Star Sports.
Pathan came up with an alternative suggestion saying that Sam Curran can be played alternatively, allowing both players to play together in the lineup.
“Depending on the conditions and the pitches, you might see Sam Curran come out and these two guys, Sikandar Raza and Livingstone, playing. Then you might see another Indian fast bowler playing there,” highlighted the former Indian all-rounder.
Punjab kings need to find a qualified spinner: Irfan Pathan
The Punjab Kings have reached the IPL final only once in the last 16 editions of the IPL. Time and time again they have bought unorthodox players at exorbitant prices. Pathan concluded by saying that the Kings need to buy big-name spinners into their ranks. They don’t have a recognized Indian spinner among the players they have retained.
“I will definitely add a spinner if I can find a good quality one. The ideal would be a left-arm spinner because if you look at those spinners, Rahul Chahar can be hot and cold and Harpreet Brar is a bit inexperienced,” Pathan concluded.
Also Read: IPL 2024: “Waiting for head coach to be sacked mid-season…” – Kevin Pietersen on Hardik Pandya’s transfer to Mumbai Indians