Updated December 20th 2023, 12:49 IST

Surprisingly, Punjab Kings were caught in a mix-up that resulted in the unintentional acquisition of Shashank Singh during the 2024 IPL Auction on Tuesday. When Shashank's name was called out during the accelerated bidding phase, the auctioneer Mallika Sagar started the bid, which caused confusion. The 32-year-old, who is uncapped and hails from Chhattisgarh, was previously with Sunrisers Hyderabad. But he went unsold at the previous auction.
The only team to bid on Shashank was Punjab Kings, who unintentionally signed him in Dubai. But as soon as the transaction was officially completed, team owners Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta discovered they had mistook Shashank for someone else. Mallika Sagar maintained that once the hammer falls, the decision stands, even in the wake of their attempts to correct the error.
The gavel indicates a confirmed purchase, therefore Wadia and Zinta attempted to bring Shashank back into the sale, but auction rules forbid such reversals. Shashank has a has played 55 T20 matches, scoring 724 runs at a 135.83 strike rate and taking 15 wickets. Harshal Patel, who cost INR 11.75 crore, was the team's most expensive acquisition.
Speaking about the incident on Jio Cinema, anchor Suhail Chandok criticised the move, saying the franchise seemed unclear with their approach. “We don’t see that in the auction if you are clear with your plans.”
Mike Hesson, who was an expert on the show, opined on Punjab’s performance in the auction: “Not sure what Punjab achieved from this IPL auction. They have a lot of backups but not a lot of substance.”
Published December 20th 2023, 12:23 IST