“12 Crore kithe leke Jane ??” – Fans react as PBKS save over Rs 12 crore after IPL 2023 auction, with 3 slots vacant

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have bought six players in the IPL 2023 mini-auction held in Kochi on Friday, December 23. They splurged a record sum of Rs 18.5 crore to buy England all-rounder Sam Curran, who became the costliest player ever in the T20 extravaganza.

With 13 wickets, Curran emerged as the Player of the Tournament in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, which England won. The 24-year-old has an overall experience of playing 145 T20s, scoring 1731 runs and scalping 149 wickets.

PBKS also bought the experienced Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikander Raza, who scored 219 runs and picked up 10 wickets for his side in the 2022 T20 World Cup. The 36-year-old has scored 3,109 runs and bagged 79 wickets in 158 T20s so far.

In addition, Punjab Kings bought the likes of Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathee, and Shivam Singh. They, however, couldn’t fill their three vacant slots, including an overseas place, despite having Rs 12.2 crore in their purse. The franchise will look to fill their vacant slots by buying unsold players in the auction.

Fans questioned the Punjab-based franchise whether they came to only buy Sam Curran in the IPL Auction.

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions:

Meanwhile, Curran and Raza expressed gratitude for being picked up by PBKS in the auction.

Taking to Twitter, Curran wrote:

“Back to where it all started! Looking forward to it.”

Sikander Raza told ESPNCricinfo:

"Alhamdulillah (thank God) it has happened. I am really happy, humble and excited at the same time. I would have [been fine with] any franchise but to have a Punjabi munda in Punjab, it is a great match."

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Players bought by PBKS with prices in IPL Auction 2023

Sam Curran (₹18.50 Cr), Sikander Raza (₹50 L), Harpreet Bhatia (₹40 L), Vidwath Kaverappa (₹20 L), Mohit Rathee (₹20 L) and Shivam Singh (₹20 L).

Punjab, however, have a strong set of players, including batters, all-rounders and bowlers. The franchise finished sixth with seven wins in 14 games under Mayank Agarwal last season and will be keen to lay their hands on the IPL trophy for the first time.

PBKS Retentions: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Shahrukh Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar.