Punjab Kings (PBKS) IPL Team: Squad, Owers and Reason for Failures
The Punjab State in India produces some of the highest volumes of top quality cricket players and even has given the Indian cricket team some all time legends. These include players like Yuvraj Singh, the man who was the hero of India’s 2011 Cricket World Cup Victory. Harbhajan Singh, one of India’s best ever spin bowlers, and now Shubman Gill, the prince of cricket in India. But when it comes to performing on the bigger stages, Punjab isn’t the very best. The Punjab State Cricket Team last one the Ranji Trophy, the premier domestic cricket tournament in the 1992-93 season. In the IPL too, the Punjab Kings(PBKS) IPL has been under a constant struggle ever since the franchise was created in 2008.
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Let’s figure out the reason why Punjab Kings (PBKS) who were earlier known as the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), failed to mae an impact on the IPL, know about their history their owners, their squad for the upcoming season the best players and records for the team.
Kings XI Punjab to Punjab Kings – Owners and History:
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Kings XI Punjab, now known as Punjab Kings, is a team that represents the regions of Kashmir, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana in the Indian Premier League and has one of the biggest cult followings for a team in the league. The Punjab franchise was purchased for $76 million in 2008 (today’s value is about Rs. 630 Crore) by a joint investment from a group of Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta, and Saptarshi Dey. The current Punjab Kings owners are Dabur group's Mohit Burman (46%), the Wadia group's Ness Wadia (23%), Preity Zinta (23%), and Saptarshi Dey of the Dey & Dey Group (minor stake).
Along with being an OG in the IPL since the 2008 season, the KXIP narrowly escaped being banned from the league back in 2010. In 2010, due to controversies surrounding the IPL and Lalit Modi, the franchise's contract was terminated along with Rajasthan Royals. Kings XI Punjab took legal action and was eventually reinstated with the intervention of the Mumbai High Court.
Just before the 2021 IPL season, the team underwent a name change to from Kings XI Punjab to Punjab Kings. Ness Wadia, one of the owners, cited the need to "relook at things" and rebrand after 13 seasons of IPL, expressing disappointment over the team's inability to secure a title.
Punjab Kings IPL Journey – From 2008 to 2023:
Kings XI Punjab, started their IPL journey with a promising start. Despite initial setbacks, they secured a semi-final finish because of notable performances from Shaun Marsh, who emerged as the top scorer of the inaugural season, and Kumar Sangakkara.
Their story of mediocrity started in 2009, when they fell short of securing a playoff spot. The 2010 season was similar, where the Kings XI Punjab struggled to find momentum, finishing at the bottom of the table.
2011 proved to be a better season than the previous two seasons Adam Gilchrist was appointed as the captain of the Kings XI Punjab. With Michael Bevan as coach, Punjab showcased promise but narrowly missed playoffs, finishing fifth in the points table.
In 2012, they finished sixth overall, followed by a disappointing performance in 2013. They failed to qualify for the playoffs despite David Miller's heroics with the bat in the tournament which included a blistering century against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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After years of disappointment, the 2014 KXIP IPL Team looked like it could achieve something meaningful. George Bailey was made captain of the team and some brilliant players in the team like Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, and Wriddhiman Saha performed at their best. In the first half of the season which was played in the UAE, Glenn Maxwell performed exceptionally well with the bat, but his form dipped as the tournament was moved back to India. George Bailey and David Miller continued the charge with the bat. One place where the team showed signs of weaknesses was in the bowling department. After superb performances in the league stage, they faced the Chennai Super Kings in the second qualifiers. This CSK vs PBKS match was one of the most entertaining ever, with a brilliant century by Virender Sehwag that took Punjab to a score of 200+, but then chasing this target, Suresh Raina from CSK was on his way to playing one of the most special knocks ever, scoring 87 off just 25 balls. But after Raina’s wicket, the Chennai batting lineup crumbled and Punjab was into the finals. The 2014 IPL finals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore was a Kolkata Knight Rider vs Kings XI Punjab (KKR vs PBKS), an all-time IPL classic, and it was all Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey show. Saha scored an amazing century becoming the first player to score a century in the IPL final. But it still wasn’t enough, because the KKR batting lineup, led by Manish Pandey’s 94-run knock, chased the 200-run target with 3 balls to spare.
Despite their best IPL performance in the previous season, Punjab Kings couldn’t better upon their previous season and once again faced disappointment in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, finishing at the bottom of the table. The team underwent leadership changes, with David Miller and Murali Vijay taking turns as captains, but failed to find consistency.
In 2017, under Glenn Maxwell's captaincy and Virender Sehwag's coaching, Punjab Kings aimed for resurgence but narrowly missed playoffs, finishing fifth in the league. Hashim Amla emerged as a top performer with the bat.
The 2018 season saw Punjab Kings making strategic acquisitions, including bringing in Ravichandran Ashwin from Chennai Super Kings as captain. Despite a promising start and remaining in the top half of the league table for the majority of the season, inconsistency plagued their campaign, leading to a seventh-place finish. In 2019 PBKS retained key players like KL Rahul and Chris Gayle but struggled to make an impact, yet again finishing sixth in the league table. The 2020 season witnessed the team making significant squad changes but failed to translate them into consistent performances. Despite notable individual displays, including KL Rahul's stellar batting, the team finished sixth again. 2021 would be the final season captain KL Rahul would play for the Punjab team where they would once again finish 6th. Rahul left to join the Lucknow Super Giants in 2022 and the team underwent a complete reformation at the IPL Mega Auction where they brought in Shikhar Dhawan as the Punjab Kings Team captain. The 2022 and 2023 seasons haven’t been great, the squad shows more promise to do well than ever. Let’s see how they do in the 2024 IPL Campaign.
Why Punjab Kings Have never won the IPL:
Poor Auction Strategies:
Though Punjab Kings have very passionate and ambitious owners, this ambition hasn’t been enough to win PBKS the IPL trophy. One of the main reasons why they haven’t been able to lift the trophy is improper squad selection. The team has a history of ignoring its weak points and continuing to play the same group of players even when they weren't playing well. They are also known for overspending for players who haven’t performed well on the team. Two key points the team has always struggled at are the spin bowling department and their batting middle order and finishers.
Poor and Inconsistent Performances:
Their inconsistent efforts throughout the competition are a major factor why the Punjab Kings' haven't won the IPL trophy. The squad has a history of getting off to a strong start in the season, winning a few games, but then losing important games in the later rounds of the competition because they were unable to maintain their momentum.
Punjab Kings Home Ground – The IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali:
Credit: Tribune India
The Punjab Kings' home ground is the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. It has a capacity of around 26,950 spectators and is known for its high scoring cricket pitch and favourable batting conditions. Although the team has never won an IPL trophy, the stadium remains buzzing with support for the team by their fans. In 61 matches played at the stadium, Punjab has won 31 and lost 30 matches. Additionally, since the 2010 season, the team has occasionally played home matches at Dharamsala and Indore alongside Mohali.
Punjab Kings IPL Team and Squad for 2024 IPL:
In anticipation of the 2024 tournament, PBKS purchased eight players at the IPL auction. The team's biggest signing was Indian medium pacer Harshal Patel, who cost Rs.
11.75 crore to try and solve their death overs bowling. South African batter Rilee Rossouw, on the other hand, went for Rs. 8 crore after a tense bidding battle with the Delhi Capitals during the auction. Along with a group of talented domestic players, England all-rounder Chris Woakes was also purchased for Rs. 4.20 crore.
PBKS Players bought at IPL 2024 auction:
Harshal Patel (Rs. 11.75 Cr), Rilee Rossouw (Rs. 8 Cr), Chris Woakes (Rs. 4.20 Cr), Ashutosh Sharma (Rs. 20 lakh), Vishwanath Pratap Singh (Rs. 20 lakh), Shashank Singh (Rs. 20 lakh), Tanay Thyagarajann (Rs. 20 lakh), Prince Choudhary (Rs. 20 lakh)
Punjab Kings (PBKS) IPL 2024 Squad:
Batters: Shikhar Dhawan, Harpreet Bhatia, Rilee Rossouw (SA), Shashank Singh.
Bowlers: Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada (SA), Nathan Ellis (AUS), Rahul Chahar, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Prince Choudhary.
Wicketkeepers: Jonny Bairstow (ENG), Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma.
All-rounders: Liam Livingstone (ENG), Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran (ENG), Sikandar Raza (ZIM), Shivam Singh, Chris Woakes (ENG), Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Singh, Tanay Thyagarajan, Harshal Patel.
PBKS (Punjab Kings) Team Expected Playing 11:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) Records:
Team Records:
Highest Totals:
232/2 - Against RCB at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, India on 17 May 2011.
Lowest Totals:
73 - Against Rising Pune Supergiants at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, India on 14 May 2017.
Highest Totals Conceded:
257/5 - Conceded to LSG at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, India on 28 April 2023.
Most Matches:
Piyush Chawla: 87 matches (2008–2013)
Most Matches as Captain:
Adam Gilchrist: 34 matches (2011–2013)
Batting Records:
KL Rahul: 2,548 runs in 55 matches (2018–2021)
Highest Individual Score:
KL Rahul: 132* against RCB at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, UAE on 24 September 2020
Most Half-Centuries:
KL Rahul: 23 in 55 innings (2018–2021)
KL Rahul and Hashim Amla: 2 each
KL Rahul: 110 in 55 innings (2018–2021)
Most Fours:
Shaun Marsh: 266 in 69 innings (2008–2017)
Most Sixes in an Inning:
Chris Gayle: 11 against SunRisers Hyderabad at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, India on 19 April 2018
Most Runs in a Season:
KL Rahul: 670 runs in 14 innings in the 2020
Bowling Records:
Piyush Chawla: 84 wickets in 87 matches (2008–2013)
Best Figures in an Innings:
Ankit Rajpoot: 5/14 against SRH at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, India on 26 April 2018
Most Wickets in a Season:
Andrew Tye: 24 wickets in 14 matches in the 2018 Indian Premier League
Wicket-Keeping and Fielding Records:
Most Wicket Keeping Dismissals:
Wriddhiman Saha: 48 dismissals in 57 matches (2014–2017)
Most Career Catches:
David Miller: 49 catches in 79 matches (2012–2019)
Most Catches in an Innings:
David Miller: 4 catches against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India on 10 April 2019
Conclusion:
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) IPL Team in 2024 looks set with a good bunch of players with experience from Jonny Bairstow and Shikhar Dhawan at the top and explosive all rounders like Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran and fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Nathan Ellis. The team looks like it has the potential to go a long way ahead, only if they consistent and focused, they can even win the trophy with the team they have.
Now that you have read about the Punjab Kings (PBKS) IPL Team, here are some more articles we recommend you read:
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