3 reasons why PBKS releasing Arshdeep Singh ahead of IPL 2025 Auction is the wrong move
Going with a big budget to an Indian Premier League (IPL) auction is never as great a sign as it's assumed to be. It's reported as the team going "strong" with the biggest space to sign big players when it generally means that the team made some massive mistakes the previous season and had to over-correct by not retaining most of the core.
That's what the Punjab Kings (PBKS) have done for the IPL 2025 auction. They are never away from the reset button but this time, Punjab have taken it a step further by only retaining two uncapped players -- Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh.
Although not retaining a lot of players after last season's performances is justifiable, especially with a new head coach, Ricky Ponting in charge. But one choice is inexplicable: Arshdeep Singh. Below, we explain why it might be PBKS' first blunder, months before the season has started, to not retain the left-arm quick.
#3 Arshdeep Singh is India's 2nd best T20 pacer
For anyone who watched the 2024 men's T20 World Cup, Arshdeep looked not just India's second-best pacer after Jasprit Bumrah but also one of the best in the world. He was the joint-highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps in eight matches (the most for India, ever, in T20 World Cups) at an average of 12.65.
Some reports have suggested that PBKS didn't want to spend ₹18 crore on Arshdeep, which simply doesn't make sense considering how important he is for India in white-ball cricket. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, and Sanju Samson have got the same amount despite not being sure-shot internationals.
Moreover, even if you leave India out of the picture, he is a left-arm pacer who can bowl in all phases of a T20I innings, can swing the new ball, has almost perfected his yorkers, doesn't care about pressure, and is the perfect leader for an attack. He is the kind of bowler teams give up an overseas spot and splurge cash for.
Purely on his skills, experience, history of good fitness and age of 25 years alone, there would be some teams ready to go all-out for Arshdeep. It's hard to argue why a team that didn't retain any other capped player, couldn't keep its best and perhaps the only India international for his fair auction value.
#2 Face of the franchise
Now, that was just his skills. By releasing Arshdeep to the auction, PBKS have let go of a homegrown player -- a local household name that most fans associated with and were proud of, an admirably earnest and hilarious character representing much more than just an IPL team but the state of Punjab.
It seems like most members of the franchise didn't realize that Arshdeep was more valuable to PBKS than any other team. He was the face of the franchise who only ever played for them and earned his India call-up through them.
That's on par with Chennai Super Kings-MS Dhoni, Royal Challengers Bengaluru-Virat Kohli and Mumbai Indians-Rohit Sharma connections. It's the kind of loyalty that's impossible to buy in an auction and takes ages to build.
Prabhsimran is a young, local lad too. However, he's much less experienced and has yet to find his footing in the pressures of international cricket. Sometime in the future, PBKS could've even looked at Arshdeep as a probable captain, but now, their strategy and ideas regarding their future identity are anybody's guess.
#1 Weakens PBKS' hand for the auction
Now, it seems obvious that PBKS will want to retain Arshdeep in the auction. Their thinking is perhaps he won't go as high as ₹18 crore under the hammer. But by not retaining him, they have revealed a big part of their strategy to the other teams.
Everyone now knows what PBKS would want to pay for Arshdeep and that they'd want him back. For, if they don't get him back, they'd have to build an entire bowling line-up, with balance, with a leader and an X-factor, from those who were considered surplus by other franchises and wouldn't know much about PBKS; it's not a good position to be in.
Plus, they will also know that the franchise has the biggest budget -- ₹110.5 crore -- and with a history of making the wrong decisions at the auction, it is easy for other teams to corner and push Punjab.
Now, auction dynamics are already tricky. Depending on which point a player comes into the auction, they can either get more than a deserved value or much less. If Arshdeep's name comes early, other franchises will have a big chance in raising his price to around the ₹18 crore mark to make PBKS spend more.
With the new RTM rule, a team might even raise the bid beyond that even when PBKS have used the RTM option on him. It's a huge risk releasing a player so important and so valuable for his skills into the auction and PBKS will have to be quite lucky to escape it without a loss.