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The Punjab Kings (PBKS) have continued to underwhelm over the years in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Last season saw the Kings miss out on the playoffs once again as they finished ninth, with only five wins from the 14 league matches.
A concern for PBKS is their retention choices aren't easy going forward. Very few of their players fit well into the brackets that have been prescribed by the IPL governing council, and there is also a cap on the number of uncapped players a team is allowed to retain.
That means that several quality players might have to be released into the auction because while they are good, they might not be good enough to demand such exorbitant price tags. On that note, here are three top players that might have to be released by PBKS ahead of IPL 2025.
#3 Liam Livingstone
After a sustained period of inconsistency in the T20 format, Liam Livingstone seems to have found a new lease of life. The English all-rounder has been in excellent form over the last few months, particularly for the national team, with both bat and ball.
Livingstone provides a profile that isn't easy to find in T20 cricket. He can bowl both leg-spin and off-spin with a fair amount of accuracy while being a big hitter of both pace and spin. While his ideal position in the batting order is yet to be ascertained, there's no doubt that he will have plenty of teams vying for his services if he is present at the IPL 2025 auction.
That said, however, PBKS might not be too inclined to retain him for a price of ₹11 crore, which seems high given his performances in the IPL. Moreover, it's debatable whether they even have players to fill the ₹18 crore and ₹14 crore slots. It would make sense for Punjab to either RTM Livingstone or buy him back at a cheaper price.
#2 Sam Curran
The Punjab Kings' marquee overseas signing over the last few IPL seasons, Sam Curran hasn't been able to justify his immense price tag. He came in with an excellent season under his belt at the 2022 T20 World Cup, but since then, his death bowling has been on the wane and he hasn't been able to contribute enough in either department.
Curran was sold for more than ₹18 crore at the 2022 auction, but whether he fits into the same price bracket now is up for debate. The answer is likely no, with PBKS on course to release him into the auction pool and potentially buy him back at a cheaper price.
Curran's limited batting against spin, coupled with his recent bowling struggles, work against him. This is despite him being an excellent T20 asset on paper, with his hitting ability, captaincy, versatility, left-arm angle, ability to swing the new ball, and ability to bowl a mean yorker.
#1 Jitesh Sharma
Indian wicket-keepers are hard to come by, especially ones who can man roles in the middle order. Jitesh Sharma has been an intent-rich batter for the Punjab Kings over the years in the IPL, but his star seems to be on the wane right now.
Despite making the Indian squad for the T20I series against Bangladesh, Jitesh has mostly fallen out of favor with the selectors. That's largely because of his inconsistency, with the batter failing to play sizeable knocks at any position in the batting order. IPL 2024 saw him turn in disappointing displays as well.
Jitesh will be in demand at the IPL 2025 auction, but it's safe to say that the retention price tags are not within his reach.
