The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season is just a few days away, and fans are anticipating a thrilling edition with the addition of two new teams. Every team has put together a strong lineup, and each franchise has a few match-winners among its ranks. Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, has identified one franchise that will struggle to win the competition this season due to a "lack of impact player." However, he added that, because of this, the Punjab Kings could surprise a few people in the tournament, but that seeing them go all the way this time around appears unlikely at this point.
"Punjab Kings is one of those teams that have not managed to win the IPL. This time, I don't think they have an impact player in their squad but this can benefit the team as well. When there are very low expectations, there is very less pressure and when the pressure is less, the players are freer in their approach,".
"In that aspect, I think Punjab Kings can surprise a few. Will they win the trophy? I doubt that. See, this is a T20 format and you have to be in that consistent cycle of winning," he stated further.
Punjab Kings bought Jonny Bairstow, Kagiso Rabada, Liam Livingstone, and Shahrukh Khan at the mega auction. Shikhar Dhawan, an inexperienced opener, was also brought in. Punjab will be led by Mayank Agarwal this season.
The first match of the IPL 2022 will be played on March 26 between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders. The Punjab Kings will kick off their season against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 27.
Punjab Kings Squad: Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.