In Dubai on Tuesday, the Punjab Kings had a strange experience at the IPL 2024 auction. They successfully bid for Shashank Singh, but then tried to convince the auctioneer, Malika Sagar, that they didn’t actually want the player. The franchise later clarified that there were 2 players with the same name on the list, causing confusion. They stated that the player they bought was always on their target list and expressed their delight in having him on board.
It was revealed that there was indeed another player named Shashank Singh who went unsold at the auction. The Shashank Singh that Punjab Kings bought is an allrounder from Chhattisgarh and has previously played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. He expressed his gratitude on social media after the franchise’s statement.
During the auction, the other Shashank Singh, a player from Bengal, also went unsold. Punjab Kings bought the player they wanted at his base price of INR 20 lakh after there were no other bids.
Following some confusion and discussions at the Kings table, the franchise ultimately had to accept the player as part of their line-up despite indications that they did not want him. They had a mixed auction, making solid buys but also missing out on some key purchases. In the end, they had INR 4.15 crore unspent, the third-highest unspent amount in the auction.
