Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) new skipper Mayank Agarwal on Saturday (March 19) expressed confidence that the franchise has built a title-winning squad for the IPL 2022 season, starting March 26.
Agarwal had captained Punjab for a few games last year when KL Rahul was injured. With Rahul shifting to the Lucknow franchise, Mayank has been handed the leadership responsibility at PBKS.
Mayank Agarwal was one of the two players that were retained by the Punjab-based franchise alongside Arshdeep Singh ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction. He has also been impressive with the bat in the last couple of seasons, amassing 400+ runs.
During the mega-auction last month, PBKS had roped in leading names such as Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Kagiso Rabada and bought back left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar and swashbuckling Tamil Nadu batter Shahrukh Khan.
"We like to believe that we do have a title winning squad and now it is upon us as players to execute our skills under pressure and see what we can make out of it," Agarwal told PTI.
''As a team we have done a good job at the auction. We were looking at few skill sets knowing that the tournament will be played in Mumbai and we have covered those bases. We are happy with the balance we have in the side.''
''When I am batting I am just a batsman. We have a lot of leaders and experience in the team and that makes it easier for me. I want to excel as a batsman and do the things I have been doing. (On the captaincy front) we have made our plans to take the team forward,'' he added.
Mayank is likely to open the batting alongside Dhawan but he didn’t open up much on the combination.
''I can't talk about the batting order as of now but I can definitely say that we are excited to have Shikhar on board. He is an absolute livewire, a great entertainer, a massive performer and a lot of the guys will feed off his energy. He is also in a great mind space.''
Having led the side in a few games last year, Mayank Agarwal is now looking forward to the full-time opportunity.
''It definitely does help (having captained the team before). I have had a taste of what it feels like,'' he said.
(With PTI inputs)
