"You get death bowlers in Harshal and Arshdeep and a new-ball bowler in Arshdeep" - Aakash Chopra on the Punjab Kings' strengths heading into IPL 2024

Aakash Chopra reckons the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) seam-bowling depth, including Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel, is one of their strengths heading into IPL 2024.

Arshdeep, who picked up 17 wickets in 14 games in IPL 2023, was retained by PBKS ahead of the auction. The Mohali-based franchise acquired Harshal for a whopping ₹11.75 crore at the auction in December last year.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that Arshdeep and Harshal's presence gives the Punjab Kings options in the powerplay and at the death.

"Their pace bowling unit is actually decent because they have lots of options. A good Indian fast bowler in the form of Arshdeep Singh and then Harshal Patel. So you get death bowlers in Harshal and Arshdeep and a new-ball bowler in Arshdeep," he said (4:15).

The former India opener added that PBKS also have a formidable overseas seam-bowling unit.

"You get three more bowlers in the form of Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, and Sam Curran, and you have got Chris Woakes. So you have got a plethora of fast-bowling options. So this team's fast bowling is good and we will keep it among their strengths," Chopra observed.

However, Chopra acknowledged that the Punjab Kings' utilization of their fast-bowling resources remains a question. He recalled Harpreet Brar being given the final over ahead of Arshdeep last season, with Rilee Rossouw making the most of it by smashing the left-arm spinner all around the park.

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"Plenty of all-rounders" - Aakash Chopra on the Punjab Kings' other positives

Liam Livingstone is one of the all-rounders in PBKS' lineup. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra chose the plethora of all-rounders in the Punjab Kings' squad as another of their strengths.

"Plenty of all-rounders. You can put that as a positive. Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Chris Woakes - if they want to play him, Rishi Dhawan, Shashank Singh - all of them bowl and bat. So they have got plenty of all-rounder options," he elaborated (5:05).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the IPL 2014 finalists have quite a few players who can define the course of a game.

"One more thing I like is that you have match-winners in their own right. Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, and Arshdeep Singh are all match-winners on the days they play well. So they have got plenty of individual match-winners," Chopra noted.

PBKS finished eighth among the 10 teams in IPL 2023. They will hope to give a better account of themselves this year and make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.