"Punjab Kings must appoint Mayank Agarwal as their captain for IPL 2022" - Aakash Chopra 

Former India opener Aakash Chopra does not want the Punjab Kings to go after a captain in the upcoming ten-franchise auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022). He has backed Mayank Agarwal to lead the team in this year's cash-rich league.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra suggested that the team management must build a team with Agarwal.

He mentioned that if a captain does not have players of his choice in the squad, then it becomes challenging for him to lead them. Chopra said:

"Punjab Kings don't need to buy a captain at the auction. They must appoint Mayank Agarwal as their captain right away and build the team with him. It becomes difficult for a skipper to lead if he is not given a team of his choice."

The Punjab-based franchise has retained just two players ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. The team management named Indian batter Mayank Agarwal (INR 12 crore) and rookie pacer Arshdeep Singh (INR 4 crore) as their two retention picks.

"Money is going to be Punjab Kings's biggest strength" - Aakash Chopra

Punjab Kings will enter the auction with a remaining pure value of INR 72 crore, which is the most among the ten franchises. Chopra feels that this will be their biggest advantage as they now have a significant opportunity to put together a solid team.

He opined that they are the only ones to be blamed if they are still not able to rope in quality players, despite having so much money.

Chopra added:

"Punjab have the most money going into the auction and that is going to be their biggest advantage. It's on them if they still aren't able to build a good team."

The IPL 2022 auction is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. A total of 590 players will go under the hammer in the two-day event.

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