Shashank Singh was purchased by Punjab Kings during the later part of the auction on Tuesday as franchises looked to add uncapped Indian players in the base price range of Rs 20 lakh.
Punjab Kings issued a clarification on Wednesday, stating that they had indeed picked the correct cricketer during the IPL auction in Dubai. This was in response to reports claiming that they had bid for a ‘wrong’ player due to confusion in the name.
When Shashank Singh’s name was announced by the auctioneer, PBKS co-owner Preity Zinta raised the paddle and the cricketer was quickly sold. The franchise later approached the auctioneer to reverse the deal, claiming they had made a mistake.
Official Update
Punjab Kings would like to clarify that Shashank Singh was always on our target list. The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. We are delighted to have him onboard and see him contribute to our success.
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) December 20, 2023
In their statement, PBKS said, “Media have reported on Shashank Singh being bought erroneously by Punjab Kings. The Kings would like to clarify that the player was always on our target list. “The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. We are delighted to have him on board and see him contribute to our success.”
A PBKS official told PTI on Wednesday that the right player had been picked and he was being scouted by the franchise for quite some time. “We have picked the right player. He was being scouted by us for quite some time. He is a 32-year-old player from Chhattisgarh who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad during the 2022 season,” said the PBKS official.
“Reports are confusing him with a 19-year-old cricketer with the same name.” Punjab Kings, formerly Kings XI Punjab, are one of the eight inaugural franchises of the IPL jointly owned by Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman, Preity Zinta and Karan Paul. The team has never won an IPL title.