Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) spent a huge amount of INR 5.25 crores for acquiring the services of uncapped Tamil Nadu batsman Shahrukh Khan in the auctions for the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League.
The 25-year-old made his name playing some valuable cameos in the lower middle-order for Tamil Nadu during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon agreed that it was Shahrukh’s finishing ability that made them go all guns out for him in the auctions.
“Shahrukh Khan is a really exciting talent. A player we had a good look at from domestic tournaments. The way he recently played in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was a glimpse of what he is capable of and we are confident that he is someone who will be there for us for a long. Shahrukh has the ability to finish games and we were looking at someone with similar traits. Really happy to get him,” Menon was quoted as saying in an interview with WION.
Punjab Kings went into the auctions with the highest purse (INR 53.2 crores) among all teams. Hence, they made other big-budget purchases like Jhye Richardson (INR 14 crores) and Riley Meredith (INR 8 crores as well). Menon was particularly happy with getting Richardson as the Australian pacer is not only a good death bowler but he is a handy lower-order batsman as well.
“Jhye was always on our list. He is one of the finest components with the ball in white-ball cricket. We stretched ourselves for Chris Morris but Rajasthan Royals got hold of him. Jhye’s ability to bowl at any stage of the match gives us the flexibility we were looking for. And obviously, he is a very handy player with the bat as well. We are really excited to witness Jhye in Punjab Kings jersey in IPL,” Menon said.
Punjab Kings also got Dawid Malan — the number one ranked T20I batsman in the world — at his base price of INR 1.5 crores. West Indies all-rounder Fabian Allen (INR 75 Lakhs) was another useful player they bought for his base price. Moises Henriques (INR 4.2 crores), Utkarsh Singh (INR 20 Lakhs), Saurabh Kumar (INR 20 Lakhs) and Jalaj Saxena (INR 30 Lakhs) were some of the other players they acquired.
