IPL 2022: Four players PBKS are likely to retain ahead of mega auction

Punjab Kings have taken part in the Indian Premier League since the 2008 edition, but are yet to win the title. They have changed their skipper plenty of times, but the move hasn’t paid dividends. KL Rahul was their skipper in 2020 and 2021, but he wasn’t able to take his team over the line. PBKS have the option of retaining three players and they need to be vigilant while making their picks.

Here are three players PBKS may want to retain ahead of the mega auction

Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal made his IPL debut back in 2011, but it’s only in the last couple of seasons that he has tasted a fair amount of success. At the age of 30, he still has quite a few years of cricket ahead of him. Last season, he was a fulcrum of the PBKS batting lineup. In the previous IPL edition, he scored 441 runs with a top score of an unbeaten 99. The Punjab-based team can’t afford to let him go.

Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep Singh made his IPL debut in 2019, but he became a regular member of the Punjab team from the 2020 edition. In 23 matches, he has picked up 30 wickets at an economy of 8.78, which is decent considering that he bowls in the powerplay and at the death. At the age of 22, the best of Arshdeep is yet to come as the left-arm fast bowler goes ahead in his career in the T20 league.

Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran had a season to forget when he last played in the IPL for the Punjab-based team. The southpaw bagged as many as four ducks and played at an average of 7.72 across 12 matches. But PBKS can retain him simply because, apart from batting, he also has the ability to lead. Pooran, earlier this year, led the Guyana Amazon Warriors to the semi-final of the 2021 Caribbean Premier League.