Punjab Kings Captain – Shikhar Dhawan
It’s all change at the Punjab Kings ahead of the 2023 IPL season.
Trevor Bayliss has been appointed as the team’s new head coach to replace Anil Kumble, while the new Punjab Kings captain will be Shikhar Dhawan, who takes the reins from Mayank Agarwal.
An inconsistent campaign in 2022 ultimately cost Agarwal his job, with Dhawan – a player with a wealth of experience in the IPL and at international level – considered the right man to lead the franchise forward.
The left-handed batsman scored 460 runs in IPL 2022, and even at the age of 37 has plenty to offer the Kings. Dhawan reached the final of the IPL in 2018 with Sunrisers Hyderabad, became the first player to score back-to-back centuries in Indian Premier League history in 2020, and finished fourth in the top run-scorer’s standings in 2021.
Best Bowler – Kagiso Rabada
Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan and Jhye Richardson were among the bowlers released ahead of the 2022 season. In their place came a varied attack headed by Kagiso Rabada, who ended the campaign with 23 wickets, which was the third-best tally in the competition.
The South African will return in 2023, and he will be supported in the seam bowling department by Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran, who is now officially the most expensive IPL player of all time, having been signed for ₹18.5 crore.
Rahul Chahar, who performed well in 2022 to end with 14 wickets, is the team’s primary spin bowler alongside Shahrukh Khan and Liam Livingstone.
Best Batsman – Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan will be hoping to repeat his exploits of last season, when he averaged an excellent 38.33 with the bat from 14 innings. Despite being one of the oldest captains in the IPL, the left-hander continues to find new ways to innovate and improve.
In truth, there aren’t many Punjab Kings players who can be described as frontline batsmen, though Jonny Bairstow’s return from a serious injury will be a major plus.
Livingstone has taken to Indian conditions supremely well, and the Englishman will be hoping to emulate his 2022 campaign in which he hit 437 runs, of which 34 were maximums.
Best Player – Shikhar Dhawan
Despite not having the deepest of rosters, there are a number of Punjab Kings players who know how to deliver Man of the Match performances.
Dhawan made three half-centuries last season, which is often a precursor for being named MOTM, while Livingstone and Rabada were also in the hunt for MVP honors based upon their performances.
And then there’s Curran, who was named Player of the Tournament at the T20 World Cup in 2022!
Punjab Kings Owner – Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta & Karan Paul
The Punjab Kings ownership team is made up of four individuals from varying walks of life.
The first Punjab Kings owner is Mohit Burman, who is the managing director of Elephant Capital, a private equity company that has investments in many industries around the world. Burman also part-owns Indian hockey and badminton teams.
Another Punjab Kings owner is Ness Wadia, who is a key figure in his family’s Wadia Group business. Its assets include the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation.
Hindi actress Preity Zinta also has a share in the Punjab Kings, as well as T20 franchises in South Africa and the Caribbean. The ownership group is completed by Apeejay Surrendra Group chairman Karan Paul.
98/116/4 since 2008, with 0 IPL titles
As one of the founding members of the IPL established in 2007, you would think that the Punjab Kings might have a title or two to their name by now.
However, their time in the competition has proven very difficult at times, and since those early days, they have reached just one final – in 2014 – and made one other appearance in the playoffs.
The franchise’s owners were hoping that a name change in 2021 – from Kings Punjab XI to Punjab Kings – would spark new success, but so far their plan has not come to fruition.
Highest Score – 232/5 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
You have to go all the way back to 2011 to find the Punjab Kings’ highest-ever IPL score – they amassed a huge 232/5 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Two Australians were key figures on the day, with captain Adam Gilchrist hitting 106 off just 55 balls and compatriot Shaun Marsh adding 79 not out of his own.
When it comes to the best individual innings from the Punjab Kings, 13 different batsmen have made centuries while wearing the red shirt – and three of those feature in the 15 highest scores in IPL history!
Paul Valthaty fired 120 not out against the Chennai Super Kings in 2011, before Virender Sehwag broke the franchise record with 122 three years later.
However, the highest ever score from the Punjab Kings team came courtesy of KL Rahul, who blasted 132 not out against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2020. Rahul and Hashim Amla are the two batsmen who have scored more than one century for the Kings.