Cricket fans witnessed a never-seen-before battle at the Indian Premier League player auction as ten teams spent INR 230.45 crore to sign 72 players on Tuesday, December 19. Teams went all guns blazing to break the all-time record for the most expensive signings in history two times in the IPL auction 2024 in Dubai.
Punjab Kings, who finished the 2023 edition in the eighth position, significantly strengthened their squad with quality buys at the 2024 auction. They entered the auction with INR 29.01 crore after releasing only five players from their previous squad.
Shikhar Dhawan-led team’s first bid came for New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra but they surprisingly pulled out of the race quite early. Punjab Kings’ first successful signing came in the form of Indian pacer Harshal Patel who was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Punjab Kings beat Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants in an intense bidding war to sign Harshal for INR 11.75 crore making him the most expensive Indian signing of the day. Punjab next signed an experienced English pace all-rounder Chris Woakes for INR 4.2 crore to strengthen their bowling attack significantly.
As expected, Punjab Kings showed a strong interest in their former player Shahrukh Khan but Gujarat Titans emerged winners with a final bid of INR 7.4 crore. Punjab also signed Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Tanay Thiagrajan, Shashank Singh and Prince Choudhary (all for a base price of INR 20 lakh each).
In the closing stages, Punjab Kings triggered a bidding war with Delhi Capitals to sign South African batter Rilee Rossouw for INR 8 crore to fill all 25 slots and still had INR 4.15 crore remaining in their purse.
Punjab Kings squad after IPL auction 2024
Retained Players: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone, Matthew Short, Harpreet Bhatia, Atharva Taide, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Gurnoor Brar, Vidwath Kaverappa
New Signings: Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Tanay Thiagrajan, Shashank Singh, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw