Punjab Kings are one of the three original franchises not to win an Indian Premier League (IPL) title. On Friday, their four-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals confirmed that their wait will continue for at least another year.
Punjab Kings have been eliminated from IPL 2023 playoff contention. (PTI)
It was not for want of trying. In a bid to change their luck, the owners renamed the team from Kings X1 Punjab in early 2021. Hiring and firing coaching staff and captains has been a regular feature. They switched from playing conservative to ultra-aggressive. They were in between this year. None of these approaches have worked.
The worst part of being a PBKS fan is that since losing in the final of 2014, they’ve never qualified for the playoffs and are fast gaining a reputation as IPL laggards.
While they finished sixth last year, one sensed they had finally embraced a distinct approach – to stay on the attack through their batting innings. The results were mixed, understandable with a high risk, high reward method. Many believed it was a strategy that could have been persisted with, especially with the cushion of the impact player this year.
After the 2022 season when they were eliminated in the league stage after finishing sixth, the team owners decided to ring in the changes again. Head coach Anil Kumble’s contract wasn’t extended and the power-hitting coach was also asked to go. Out went the auction strategist and the analyst. KL Rahul was the captain in 2021, Mayank Agarwal in 2022 while Shikhar Dhawan was the chosen one this season.
With Dhawan having fluffed his lines in the final two matches after he was left to bowl a spinner in the final over, it would be no surprise if the 37-year-old too is axed as captain.
BOWLING WOES
It wasn’t entirely gloom and doom. PBKS finished with only six wins, but their batters powered to 200-plus totals four times and scored 190s thrice. They were still bettered in four of those games, laying bare their bowling shortcomings.
Their strike bowler Arshdeep Singh, carrying confidence from international success, began well but soon lost his rhythm. The left-armer still finished with the best returns by a PBKS bowler (17 wickets) but was the most expensive (econ rate 9.69) he has been. An exponent of swing bowling, mid-way through the season PBKS stopped handing him the new ball, a change in role he struggled to come to terms with.
Their South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada endured a poor season, playing only six games after arriving late in IPL due to international fixtures. He constantly struggled with front-foot no balls. For his seven wickets, he went at 10.08 runs per over.
Rahul Chahar (14 matches, 8 wkts, ER 7.75) stood out with his leg-spin, but Dhawan struggled to use Harpreet Brar’s left-arm spin efficiently.
“We play in Mohali which has very batting-friendly conditions and it’s tough for the bowlers. Still, with the kind of bowling attack we had, fast bowlers and even spinners, we should have bowled better in certain conditions,” batting coach Wasim Jaffer said. “We didn’t live up to expectations as a bowling unit.”
PBKS never really ‘at home’, winning only one of the seven matches they played at home venues Mohali and Dharamsala. That lone success was at Mohali in their opening game.
UNDERUTILISED RESOURCES
One of the big failings of the franchise was the inability to use overseas players optimally. Barring England all-rounder Sam Curran, IPL’s most expensive recruit, no other foreigner played all the matches. The Player-of-the-Tournament in the 2022 T20 World Cup also ended up having an up-and-down season.
Despite these problems, it was their power-hitters, the most sought after group in the format, who carried their season. Liam Livingstone (SR 163.15) and Jitesh Sharma (SR 156.06) proved the most destructive ball strikers in the league phase.
Yet, when it was a no-brainer that they needed to be promoted in the batting order when chasing 258 against LSG, the duo came to the crease after the 15th over with a mountain to climb. It pretty much summed up their woeful season where so much of the talent was underutilised or played out of their best role.
The top-order led by Dhawan couldn’t always force the issue. Most teams still in playoff contention have a superior run rate to PBKS (8.69) in the powerplay.
“It has been a disappointing season without a doubt. With the kind of squad we had, we needed to be in the top half of the table,” said Jaffer, the former India Test opener.
PBKS had ₹12.2 crore of unused funds after the last auction, which proved misguided frugality.
Rasesh Mandani loves a straight drive. He has been covering cricket, the governance and business side of sport for close to two decades. He writes and video blogs for HT.
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