Punjab Kings’ 32-year-old aggressive batter Shashank Singh has been a revelation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 so far.
Shashank has an incredible journey in the cash-rich league so far. He was not supposed to play for the franchise, as the owners and the management never bid for him. They went for a different player in the auction and even refused to accept Shashank after buying him wrongly. However, the auctioneer turned down their appeal, and they had no choice but to persist with him.
After being trolled by several fans over various social media platforms, Punjab Kings claimed that he was the same Shashank they were bidding for to save their face. Actually, two players with the same name led to the confusion, and PBKS bought the wrong guy, thinking he was the one they wanted.
However, Punjab Kings do not regret about their wrong bidding now as Shashank has been their best player so far in the mega event. The team could have won several matches had Shashank got support from other batters in IPL 2024. Ashutosh Sharma has stitched some match-winning partnerships with him, but they were never going to be enough.
In the crucial match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), PBKS won the game with a world record chase. Chasing a huge target of 262, the visitors won the game convincingly by eight wickets in 19.4 overs.
While English batter Jonny Bairstow scored a hundred, Shashank slammed a blistering knock of 68 of just 28 balls including eight sixes and two fours. His 84-run partnership with Bairstow won the game for the side.
English all-rounder Sam Curran, who was leading Punjab in Shikhar Dhawan’s absence, hailed Shashank for his brilliant batting.
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“Shashank has been the find of the season for us along with Ashutosh Sharma. He has batted exceptionally well for us. It was some chase against Kolkata. It was a breathtaking game,” said Curran.