"I don't think the Punjab Kings will appoint Shikhar Dhawan as captain" - Saba Karim

Former India cricketer Saba Karim believes the Punjab Kings will not appoint senior batter Shikhar Dhawan as their skipper for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022).

Karim made those remarks while speaking on the YouTube channel Khelneeti. He pointed out that while Dhawan is one of the most reliable Indian openers, it is unlikely that he will lead the Punjab Kings.

He suggested that the franchise could consider Mayank Agarwal for the crucial role.

"I don't think the Punjab Kings will appoint Shikhar Dhawan as captain. He has been a successful batter in the IPL over the years. He plays well in the powerplay and then has the ability to take on the spinner later on.

"Apart from him, there wasn't any bankable Indian opening batter. I feel Punjab will go with Mayank as the skipper."

The Punjab Kings roped in Shikhar Dhawan for ₹8.25 crore at the recently-concluded ten-franchise mega-auction. It is worth mentioning that he was the first player to be sold at the two-day event.

Punjab Kings squad for IPL 2022: Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell

"It always is difficult when there are 10 teams at the auction" - Saba Karim

Saba Karim, the head of talent search for Delhi Capitals, also discussed the challenges of having ten teams at the auction. He underlined the importance of signing at least seven quality Indian players at the event.

The 54-year-old also opined that a team must focus on adding backups for their top players, considering that the tournament is going to be played amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saba Karim added:

"It always is difficult when there are 10 teams at the auction. But if you are successful in picking 7 Indian players, then I believe things become a lot clearer. Considering the ongoing pandemic, you also need to be ready to have strong backups as you never know when a player gets ruled out."

Meanwhile, a total of 204 players were sold at the IPL 2022 auction. The ten participating franchises combined to spend a whopping sum of ₹551 crore during the event.