“This is a great partnership” - Wasim Jaffer on PBKS’ opening pair of Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan in IPL 2022

Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer reckons that Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) opening pair of Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan could prove to be extremely dangerous in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

Agarwal has been among the franchise’s most consistent batters in recent seasons. Dhawan, meanwhile, was picked up by Punjab at the auction in February after he was released by Delhi Capitals (DC). The duo added 71 for the opening wicket against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as PBKS successfully chased down 206.

Discussing the impact the opening duo could have on IPL 2022, Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo:

“Dhawan and Agarwal are very important for PBKS. They are a left-right combination and both are experienced players. Mayank can play his attacking game as he knows that Dhawan is a calming influence. Dhawan himself is aggressive and this is a great partnership. In the last game, they got the team off to a good start. Although the partnership was not a huge one, it was their stand that set up the chase.”

After the openers gave PBKS a good start against RCB, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith all chipped in with crucial contributions as Punjab got their IPL 2022 campaign off to a positive start.

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“This is Anil Kumble’s strategy” - Wasim Jaffer’s on PBKS’ attacking mindset

Jaffer, who was part of the Punjab setup as batting coach until last season, revealed that head coach Anil Kumble was the brains behind the team’s aggressive mindset that was on show in the opening game. He explained:

“I feel that this is Anil Kumble’s strategy, to play attacking cricket. I was part of the team last year and he was insisting on the same. He encourages attacking cricket and that is what we have got to see so far. Rajapaksa came in and played in that fashion, and the others followed.”

Jaffer added that Punjab’s batting looks really dangerous with the likes of Rajapaksa, Livingstone and a few others. He stated:

“PBKS have a dangerous line-up with Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan and Odean Smith. Even if two of them fire, we know what they are capable of.”

After Agarwal and Dhawan got Punjab off to a confident start against RCB, Rajapaksa came in and smacked 43 off 22. Shahrukh (24* off 20) and Smith (25* off eight) then put the finishing touches to the contest.