How Punjab Kings appeared to buy the ‘wrong player’ at the IPL auction
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After the Indian Premier League auction, the Punjab Kings found themselves in an unfortunate predicament. They unintentionally acquired a player that was not their intended choice.
The team in the Indian Premier League had mistakenly purchased an inexperienced 32-year-old player named Shashank Singh, which was not their intention. After noticing their mistake, the team informed the auctioneer named Mallika Sagar about the issue. However, they were informed that the bid had already taken place and could not be undone.
The individuals in charge of the Punjab Kings made an error in identifying Shashank and assumed he was another person. Despite this, Shashank is confirmed to be joining the team for a base rate of 20 lakh (approximately £19,000).
During a conversation with her team, Preity Zinta decided to bid on Shashank when his name was mentioned. As there were no other franchises bidding at the time, the hammer was brought down and he was successfully sold.
The Punjab Kings came to a realization that they made an error by mistaking Shashank for a different player. However, the person who conducted the auction was resolute and did not budge, affirming that the sale had been made and Shashank was now officially part of the team's roster.
Although the major auction with more spots to fill is not scheduled until before the 2025 competition, the smaller "mini auction" with only 77 vacancies left garnered a lot of attention.
The process took a long time and the highest amount ever paid for a cricket player was surpassed twice in a row. Sunrisers Hyderabad signed Pat Cummins first, followed by Kolkata Knight Riders who signed Mitchell Starc for £2.3m.
Starc had been absent from the tournament for a span of eight years, but following a fierce bidding process, the payment was made, marking another step forward for the IPL in distancing itself from other rival franchise leagues. The IPL has been considered as the second most valuable sports league globally, surpassing even the Premier League, with only the NFL surpassing its worth.
