Punjab Kings (PBKS) CEO Satish Menon is pleased with the purchases made by them at the IPL 2021 auction last week as they bolstered their pace attack by acquiring the services of Australia’s Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith.
While Punjab’s top four batsmen did a great job in the IPL 2020, their pace department conceded plenty of runs in the death overs and lacked firepower in the middle-order with Glenn Maxwell not delivering.
The franchise entered into the auction with the biggest prize purse – INR 53.20 crore – and spent INR 22 crore for Richardson and Meredith.
"We got what we wanted. There is always going to be a few misses. We were looking out for real fast bowlers which we got. Both Riley and Jhye can clock up to 150kmph, Jhye is also handy with the bat," Menon told PTI in an exclusive chat.
"In the middle order, we wanted an all-rounder someone who can pull of tight wins and someone who has been with us in the past, Moises Henriques fit the bill perfectly. (Dawid) Malan is the number one T20 batsman in the world. We got our bases covered, it is now up to the players to perform," he added.
Kings were involved in a fierce bidding war with Rajasthan Royals for Chris Morris, who eventually went to the inaugural IPL champions for a whopping INR 16.25 crore. They also lost Moeen Ali (Rs 7 crore to CSK) and Shakib Al Hasan (3.20 crore to KKR) in the bidding battle.
"We went on for Morris. Unlike a few other teams we needed nine people (to complete a squad of 25). We could not have gone longer for one player. That is the problem with smaller auctions," Menon said.
Nonetheless, they secured the services of No. 1 T20I batsman Malan at his base price of Rs 1.5 crore. In total, PBKS signed p players which also included Tamil Nadu's Shahrukh Khan and Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques.
"We have options in all departments. We were keen on getting Moeen Ali. He was on the top of our list. Of course Shakib was there too but his availability could have been an issue."
Asked about not having much experience in the off-spin and Indian pacers' department, Menon said: "The point is not whether we have enough options in one department, it is about who is going to be in the playing eleven."
"You have got two good leggies in M Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi. Fabian Allen is also there and Malan can bowl too."
Experts believe Punjab should have gone for pacer Umesh Yadav as he has the experience of leading the Indian attack along with Mohammad Shami.
Speaking on the same line, Menon said: "We would have liked to have him in the eleven but were not sure if he could be a part of it regularly. We already got Arshdeep who has done well and Darshan Nalkande who is also in good form."
(With PTI inputs)
