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Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Shashank Singh voiced his gratitude towards the team owners for putting their trust in him and backing him after the 32-year-old emerged as the match-winner for the franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 4 (Thursday). By playing an unbeaten knock of 61 runs off 29 balls, Shashank proved his mettle and delivered a resounding reply to all his naysayers.
For his knock embellished with six fours and four sixes, Shashank was awarded the Man of the Match award as he helped PBKS chase down a target of 200 or more for a record 6th time in the IPL.
After the game, Shashank thanked the PBKS owners, management and the coaching staff for trusting him while he also exuded confidence in his ability with the bat.
"They (Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Mohit Sharma) are the legends of the game, but when I go to bat I think I am the best. You get experience, couldn't get a lot of matches before. Here the owners and coaching staff backed me. I was very confident," Shashank told the broadcasters at the post-match presentation, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Shashank Singh IPL action controversy
Confusion ensued inside the auction room last December when Punjab Kings placed a bid on Shashank Singh, a 32-year-old all-rounder hailing from Chhattisgarh. When his name was announced for bidding, Punjab Kings showed their interest by bidding for him. However, after the right-handed batter was declared sold for the initial bid of Rs 20 lakh, there seemed to be a moment of discussion between Punjab Kings co-owners Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia with the auctioneer, Malika Sagar.
Following the televised confusion, speculation arose suggesting that Punjab Kings had not intended to buy the player but ended up with him after the bid was finalised.
Later, the Punjab Kings released a statement and spoke about what had exactly transpired.
"Punjab Kings would like to clarify that Shashank Singh was always on our target list. The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. We are delighted to have him onboard and see him contribute to our success," Punjab Kings had said in a tweet.
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