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Punjab Kings (PBKS) have been part of the IPL since the start of the T20 tournament. However, they are yet to win the coveted trophy. They reached the semifinals in the inaugural edition in 2008 and were runners-up in 2014. In all other seasons, they failed to go past the league stage.
Last year, PBKS finished eighth in the points table, with 12 points, winning six games and losing eight. At the IPL 2024 mini-auction in Dubai, they purchased eight players, two of them being batters. Punjab got South Africa's T20 star Rilee Rossouw for ₹8 crore and Indian batter Shashank Singh for ₹20 lakh.
PBKS also purchased bowling all-rounders Chris Woakes and Harshal Patel for ₹4.2 crore and ₹11.75 crore respectively. As Punjab prepare to play their IPL 2024 opener against Delhi Capitals on Saturday, March 23, we predict the team's top three run-getters for the ongoing season.
#3 Shikhar Dhawan
Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan has not played any competitive cricket since IPL 2023.
Leading PBKS in the previous edition, he had a mixed time, scoring 373 runs in 11 games at an average of 41.44 and a strike rate of 142.91, with three half-centuries.
Dhawan began IPL 2023 in impressive fashion. He hammered an unbeaten 86 off 56, slamming nine fours and three sixes against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati.
He followed it up with 99* off 66, clubbing 12 fours and five sixes, against SunRisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad.
The PBKS captain, though, failed to maintain his batting rhythm as the tournament progressed.
Dhawan registered only one half-century in his next eight innings in IPL 2023, and his struggles coincided with the team's slide. There will be concerns about the Punjab captain being rusty heading into IPL 2024. But the experienced campaigner will back himself to have a decent season with the willow.
#2 Jonny Bairstow
Experienced England batter Jonny Bairstow had a horror run during the five-game Test series in India.
He failed to register a single half-century in the series, finishing with a highest score of 39, which he registered in his last innings of the tour in Dharamsala, which also marked his 100th Test.
Bairstow, though, is a completely different proposition in the T20 format. The right-hander missed the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League due to a freak injury suffered while playing golf. Before that, he featured in the 2022 edition, scoring 253 runs for Punjab in 11 games at a strike rate of 144.57, with three half-centuries.
The 34-year-old has an impressive overall record in the Indian Premier League. In 39 games, he has smashed 1,291 runs at an average of 35.86 and a strike rate of 142.65, with one hundred and nine fifties.
Bairstow loves taking on the bowling in the T20 format, and if he gets going, he could be pretty much unstoppable.
#1 Rilee Rossouw
Dashing South African batter Rilee Rossouw was among PBKS' big buys at the IPL 2024 auction. The Punjab franchise shelled out ₹8 crore to purchase the left-hander, a clear indication of how highly they rate him as a batter.
Rossouw represented Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2023 edition. The 34-year-old was not a consistent performer, scoring 209 runs in nine games at an average of 29.86 and a strike rate of 148.23.
However, he gave a fine demonstration of his abilities when he slammed a brutal 82* off 37 deliveries against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala. The scintillating knock from Rossouw featured six fours and as many sixes as DC beat PBKS by 15 runs.
Barring that knock in Dharamsala, the Proteas batter has done precious little with the willow in the IPL. However, he might get a consistent run in the PBKS playing XI in what's still an unsettled playing unit.
If he gets a long rope, there's every reason for the hard-hitting left-hander to succeed. After all, we are talking about someone who has amassed over 8,200 runs in T20 cricket at a strike rate of 143.10, with six hundreds and 49 fifties.
