Punjab Kings, SWOT Analysis, available purse and remaining slots

Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) don’t have a story to cherish in the history of the Indian Premier League since the inception of the tournament 15 years back in the year 2008. After playing in these 15 years across 16 seasons of the tournament, it’s been only two times when the Punjab Kings made it to the knockouts of the tournament. 

The first time was in 2008, when the Kings made it to the semi-finals of the tournament and the second time, was in IPL 2014 when the Kings ended up the tournament as runner-up, losing to KKR in the final of the tournament; it was the only highest performance for Kings in the history of the tournament. 

With said that, here we’ll have a look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the Punjab Kings ahead of the mini-auction for the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024).

Strengths

The primary strength for Punjab is their experienced and blistering opening pair of skipper Shikhar Dhawan and the star England batter Jonny Bairstow. Notably, Dhawan was the leading run-scorer for his side in the Indian Premier League 2023, scoring 373 runs at an excellent average of 41.44. Apart from the batting excellence in their lineup, the Kings have also a brilliant pace attack led by the star South African pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada. 

Weaknesses

Despite having a brilliant pacer like Kagiso Rabada, there is also a weak point in the squad that the Kings' management needs to address before entering the next season of the tournament. It is none other than the lack of experience in the Indian bowlers who are there in the squad as there is no backup for the star left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.

Opportunities

Having a lack of pressure and getting good support from fans, Punjab Kings will have an opportunity to come up strong in the 17^th edition of the tournament to finish with their best performance with the star players in the squad; they will also be eyeing ending their 16-year-long wait for the maiden title in the tournament.

Threats

The death bowling could emerge as one of the big threats for Shikhar Dhawan’s men in the upcoming edition of the tournament. They might cost a lot of runs in the death overs, be it bowling first or defending the target.

Remaining Purse and Slots for Punjab Kings

The Mohali-based franchise is currently left with the remaining purse of INR 29.1 crores for the IPL 2024 mini-auction. They have a total of 8 slots left with them, including 2 for the overseas cricketers. 

Here’s a look at the squad of Punjab Kings ahead of the IPL 2024 mini-auction:

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Singh, Shivam Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Vidwath Kaverappa, Liam Livingstone, Rishi Dhawan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma, and Prabhsimran Singh.