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The Punjab Kings (PBKS) endured a tough campaign in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) table as they finished a disappointing sixth and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
This time around, the franchise will be skippered by Shikhar Dhawan, who has taken over from the released Mayank Agarwal. The Kings have several value-for-money buys on their books, including international stars and talented uncapped players.
Other names on the roster, however, have quite literally failed to live up to their billing. Here are three PBKS players who are on overpriced contracts for IPL 2023.
#3 Sam Curran
Sam Curran fetched a whopping ₹18.5 crore at the IPL 2023 auction, becoming the most expensive signing in the history of the event. He is boring a hole in PBKS' purse, and it seems like he won't be able to vindicate such a gargatuan price.
Curran was paid the big bucks because of his exploits at the 2022 T20 World Cup, where he walked away with the Player of the Tournament award. Since then, though, his form has been rather sketchy.
The left-armer endured a disappointing SA20 campaign with MI Cape Town, failing to make a real impact with both bat and ball. He has also been taken for runs at the death quite often, rendering one of the biggest reasons why PBKS signed him moot.
It remains to be seen if Curran can deliver an MVP-caliber season for Shikhar Dhawan and Co.
#2 Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada is one of the best all-format bowlers in the world, but his utility in T20 cricket isn't at its highest right now.
In IPL 2022, Rabada played 13 matches, returning 23 wickets at an economy rate of 8.46. These may seem like decent returns, but he isn't a reliable option at the death and arguably does not warrant being on a contract worth ₹9.25 crore.
In the SA20 league, the South African pacer picked up just 11 wickets in eight matches. Although his economy rate of 7.45 was excellent, he was rarely used at the death by MI Cape Town skipper Rashid Khan.
PBKS might use Rabada as a new-ball bowler, since Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran can take over death-bowling responsibilities. But having a specialist new-ball bowler worth over ₹9 crore who doesn't really offer much with the bat doesn't seem smart.
#1 Shahrukh Khan
There were reports suggesting that PBKS would release Shahrukh Khan ahead of the IPL 2023 auction, but they surprisingly retained his services. The big-hitting batter was signed for ₹9 crore at the 2022 mega-auction.
Shahrukh endured a terrible campaign last year. He managed just 117 runs in eight matches at an average of 16.71 and a strike rate of 108.33, with his limitations against both pace and spin coming to the fore on a regular basis. The Tamil Nadu batter even lost his place in the playing XI midway through the competition as Jitesh Sharma took over finishing duties for the franchise.
SRK has been underwhelming in domestic cricket across formats as well, and things don't look very promising heading into IPL 2023.
