IPL 2022: After retaining Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh and saving a purse of Rs 72 crore ahead of the IPL 2020 mega auction, Punjab Kings (PBKS), in hunt of fresh domestic talents, have their eyes set on Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. Follow more IPL 2022 news on InsideSport.IN.
IPL 2022: Punjab Kings gear up for mega auction with eyes of scouts on Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021
On the behest of head coach Anil Kumble, PBKS have hired the services of former Mumbai cricketers Vinayak Samant and Vinayak Mane who will be the scouts from Mumbai, and will be watching games at the CCI and the MCA Ground in Bandra.
Apart from these two Mumbai stalwarts, PBKS, who are yet to win their maiden IPL title, have also roped in former India cricketers Reetinder Sodhi and VRV Singh to conduct scouting searches in Mohali. For games in the South, current Punjab Kings manager Avinash Vaidya and Sankar Rajagopalan will be watching games in Thiruvananthapuram. In the east, Kuldeep Sharma and SP Gautam will be watching a few games in Ranchi.
“Yesterday, we had a zoom meeting with Anil Kumble. They’ve set certain guidelines to track down the players. They want us to watch games, make notes and give opinions on players. They’ve appointed talent scouts at all venues for the Vijay Hazare Trophy,” said Vinayak Mane as quoted by Punjab Kings in an official release.
Manager Avinash Vaidya and Rajagopalan also intend to cover a few knockout games in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. The quarter-final stage of the 50-over tournament will kick off from December 21.
Punjab Kings under the captaincy of KL Rahul finished sixth in the IPL 2021 after losing 8 out of their 14 league games. Rahul, the third highest run-scorer in the season, opted to leave the franchise and is expected to join the Lucknow franchise.
The likes of Mohammed Shami, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Mandeep Singh and Shahrukh Khan were also not retained. Recently, with 5 needed of the last ball of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 final, Shahrukh Khan smashed a six to win the title in style for Tamil Nadu.
IPL 2022: Punjab Kings gear up for mega auction with eyes of scouts on Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021
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