Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting rolled the dice and this time it was Shreyas Iyer who met the big bucks from the franchise rather than Rishabh Pant. Before the start of the auction, it was suggested that Pant will be PBKS’ top priority, especially considering that Ponting is the team’s coach, but the franchise broke the bank on Iyer, splashing INR 26.75 crore. In fact, PBKS didn’t even bother about the coveted wicket keeper batter who, later in the auction, was sold off at INR 27 crore to Lucknow Super Giants, a record fee in the IPL auction history. Later, Ponting gave his small little reply while asked regarding the absence of bid for Pant.
Punjab Kings, who went into the mega auction with a swelling purse of Rs 110.5 crore, had no qualms about spending on marquee picks. It ended up securing Iyer through a furious bidding war with Delhi Capitals at PBKS’ price of Rs 26.75 crore. This made him the second-highest paid star in IPL history.
This meant that PBKS had to bid carefully for Pant when he was up for grabs. During the price auction of Pant, PBKS kept their paddle down for a lengthy period while the majority of franchises were vying for him. PBKS didn’t even raise a single penny bid for the coveted wicketkeeper batter eventually sold to Lucknow Super Giants in IPL auction history at a price worth INR 27 crore.
Lucknow Super Giants eventually ended up with Pant for a price tag of Rs 27 crore, making him the highest-paid star in IPL history.
Iyer’s presence at PBKS required a consideration on bidding for Pant in the auction when he became available for bidding. This is one of the reasons why, when Pant was flagged for auction, PBKS kept its paddle low because many franchises were after him.
The Lucknow Super Giants eventually gained the services of Pant at Rs 27 crore, thereby making him the highest-paid star in IPL history.
Ponting accepted all the arguments regarding the presence of Pant but maintained that after having acquired Iyer, the franchise was not looking forward to dipping into the bidding fever for Pant. “I haven’t got it yet. I got the other one. I mean, Rishabh, everyone knows what Rishabh can do, his value to the game, his value to the team. He is a dynamic player, has an infectious attitude and is a winner,” he said.
Thus, PBKS acquiring Iyer would mean potentially investing in himself as a possible future captain candidate. Nevertheless, Ponting wasted no time pointing out that he had not yet spoken to Iyer about the captaincy and admitted to making a call to him before the auction but received no response.
“I haven’t spoken to him (Shreyas Iyer about captaincy) yet. I tried to call him before the auction, but he didn’t pick up,” he said.
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