Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reckoned that the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS) will go for their released pacer Arshdeep Singh in the upcoming mega auction which is scheduled to take place on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. PBKS recently announced their retention list where the released several key players including key speedster Arshdeep.
PBKS will enter the IPL auction with a purse of INR 110.5 crore which is the highest by any franchise. They have just retained two uncapped players, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh, for a total of Rs 9.5 crore.
Manjrekar pointed out there has been a slight difference in the pacer's ability now in comparison to when he made his debut five years ago.
"I believe that they have released a lot of players so that they get some freedom. And the core of the team and the combination of the team should change completely. But they will definitely be interested in Arshdeep Singh. I believe there is a slight difference between today's Arshdeep Singh and 5 years ago's Arshdeep Singh," Manjrekar told on Star Sports' 'Game Plan'.
The left-arm speedster, who picked up 19 wickets in 14 innings during IPL 2024 and is one of India's highest wicket-taking seamer in T20Is this year, will go to the auction pool despite his impressive performances.
"But he can still give you a wicket with a new ball. And you can still expect from him in the slogovers as well. So although Punjab Kings have released him, they will definitely be after Arshdeep in the mega auctions," the former cricketer added.
The franchise's performance in the league has been underwhelming for several years, with only two appearances in the knockout stages across 17 seasons. Their standout campaign came in 2014 when they dominated the league stage but fell short in the final against Kolkata Knight Riders.
In a bid to turn their fortunes around, PBKS has revamped their coaching setup by bringing in former Australia captain Ricky Ponting as the head coach. After a successful seven-year tenure with Delhi Capitals, Ponting has joined PBKS, where Brad Haddin and Sunil Joshi have been retained, and James Hope has been appointed as the new fast-bowling coach.
