5 great players who failed badly at PBKS
Punjab Kings (PBKS), earlier known as Kings XI Punjab, were among the first 8 teams to have been part of the IPL in 2008. They are yet to win a title, just like RCB and Delhi Capitals.
Their only final appearance was in 2014. They have very good home support despite being the worst-performing franchise in the league's history.
PBKS has been home to several T20 superstars over the years. However, they have failed to build a consistent core over the years. The management's tendency to keep chopping and changing could not bring the best out of the team.
In this article, we look at five great players who failed badly for the Punjab-based franchise.
#1 Glenn Maxwell
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Glenn Maxwell is one of the most explosive batters in the format's history. He has scored 8451 runs in T20 cricket at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 151. He is in high demand in the IPL; his price tags in the auction have often affirmed that.
Maxwell made his debut for PBKS in 2014 and represented the franchise in 65 matches. He scored 1294 runs at an average of 24 and a mind-boggling strike rate of 159 and took 13 wickets at an economy rate of 8.61. However, he only had two noteworthy seasons: 2014 and 2017.
His performances in the other 3 seasons - 2015, 2016 and 2020 - were absolutely terrible. PBKS eventually released him when he barely crossed 100 runs in the 2020 edition of the tournament.
#2 Aaron Finch
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Aaron Finch - The master of big knocks. 💪🏻
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Former Australian captain Aaron Finch was one of the best batters of all time in T20 internationals. He scored 3120 runs in 103 innings at an average of 34 and a strike rate of 143. Under his captaincy, Australia won their only Men's T20 World Cup in 2021.
However, Finch could never perform to the best of his abilities in the IPL. He played 10 matches for PBKS in the 2018 season and scored only 134 runs at an average of 17 and a strike rate of 134.
#3 Yuvraj Singh
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Yuvraj Singh was one of the greatest middle-order batters India produced in the shortest format of the game. He was pivotal in India's T20 World Cup win in the inaugural edition of the tournament. He has played for six IPL franchises: MI, SRH, PWI, RCB, DC, and PBKS.
Yuvraj represented his home state franchise in 51 matches and scored 969 runs at an average of 22 and a strike rate of 128. His only notable season was in 2008, when he scored 299 runs at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 163.
His worst season was 2018. He scored only 65 runs in six innings and failed to create any major impact.
#4 Marcus Stoinis
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Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has become one of the best T20 finishers in the world in the recent past. The 33-year-old has loads of experience in the format.
In 219 matches, he has scored over 4500 runs at a strike rate of 137 and taken 96 wickets at an economy rate of 9.03.
Stoinis made his IPL debut with PBKS way back in 2016. He played 19 matches across 3 seasons and scored 262 runs at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 126. With the ball, he took 13 wickets and went at 9.53 runs per over.
#5 Nicholas Pooran
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Nicholas Pooran is one of the most destructive T20 batters in the world. His record speaks for itself: 4977 runs in 236 innings at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 141. He is one of the most effective batsmen against spin in the middle overs phase.
Pooran played 33 matches for PBKS and scored 606 runs at an average of 22 and a strike rate of 155. While the numbers do not look as bad, he essentially only had one great season (2020) for the franchise.
In the 2021 edition, he had one of the worst individual season performances by a batter in IPL history. He scored 85 runs in 11 innings, bagging four ducks.