The IPL 2022 tournament will begin from March 26 onwards with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the opening match in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their first match on March 27 in DY Patil Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Kings were left without a captain as KL Rahul decided to move on and put himself in the IPL 2022 auction. The PBKS management had also retained only two players in Arshdeep Singh and Mayank Agarwal and they went hard for some players in the auction, building a very potent team.
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Their most expensive buy was England’s Liam Livingstone for INR 11.50 crores, then came Kagiso Rabada at INR 9.25 crores and Shahrukh Khan for INR 9 crores. They also acquired the services of Shikhar Dhawan for INR 8.25 crores, while Jonny Bairstow joined the franchise for INR 6.75 crores.
Keeping this in consideration, here is the COC presents possible playing XI for Punjab Kings (PBKS)
The PBKS had announced Mayank Agarwal as their captain for the upcoming IPL 2022. Though they have multiple options at the top order, expect Mayank to open the innings with experienced Shikhar Dhawan, who was in terrific form in both IPL 2020 and IPL 2021 for Delhi Capitals.
Next, we come to Jonny Bairstow and his England teammate Liam Livingstone with Shahrukh Khan forming a pretty destructive middle order. One look at the PBKS squad for the IPL 2022 edition shows that they are slightly short on pure batters with them relying more on all-rounders and power-hitters.
Expect all-rounders to come in next with the likes of Rishi Dhawan, Odean Smith, and Harpreet Brar doing the job with the ball and the bat. Brar will also form a potent spin partnership with Rahul Chahar, who was bought to compensate for the loss of Ravi Bishnoi.
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Kagiso Rabada will form the new-ball partnership with Arshdeep Singh, while they have other options like Sandeep Sharma, Ishan Porel, and Nathan Ellis as well.
COC presents Possible Playing XI for Punjab Kings (PBKS):
Mayank Agarwal (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Rishi Dhawan, Odean Smith, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
