IPL 2022 Auction: 3 players who could return to Punjab Kings after more than 5 years
Punjab Kings (formerly known as Kings XI Punjab) have participated in all the IPL seasons so far. They finished in the top 4 in the inaugural season and were the runners-up in 2014. Apart from those two seasons, the Kings did not qualify for the playoffs in any IPL tournament,
They are one of only three franchises to have never won the IPL despite being a participant in the tournament since 2008.
The Punjab Kings will look to make a fresh start in 2022. They have released some big names like KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Chris Jordan, Mohammed Shami and Nicholas Pooran from their squad.
The Punjab Kings team management could look to sign some of their former stars to strengthen their IPL 2022 squad. On that note, here's a list of three players who could return to Punjab Kings in IPL 2022 after a gap of more than five years.
#1 Sreesanth - Played last match for Punjab Kings in IPL 2010
2011 Cricket World Cup winner Sreesanth played for the Punjab Kings in the first three IPL seasons. Not many fans know that the right-arm pacer was the most successful Indian bowler in the 2008 IPL. He scalped 19 wickets in 15 matches for the Mohali-based franchise and played an integral role in the team's top-4 finish.
Punjab Kings could look to sign the Kerala fast bowler at the upcoming mega auction. Sreesanth went unsold at the IPL Auction 2021, but has performed well for Kerala in domestic cricket. He took 13 wickets in six matches for his state in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Overall, Sreesanth has 54 wickets to his name in 64 T20 innings. He could bring a lot of experience to Punjab's bowling attack.
#2 Dinesh Karthik - Played last match for Punjab Kings in IPL 2011
Dinesh Karthik has played for many IPL franchises in his career. In 2011, he turned up for the Punjab Kings, scoring 282 runs at an average of 25.84.
Karthik has been released by the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the mega auction. Given that he is one of the best wicket-keepers in India and a captaincy candidate as well, the Punjab Kings could target him at the mega auction.
For the record, Karthik has played 200 IPL matches, scoring over 4,000 runs in addition to taking 115 catches and executing 32 stumpings.
#3 Shardul Thakur - Played last match for Punjab Kings in IPL 2015
Pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur started his IPL career in 2015 as a member of the Punjab Kings team, where he picked up a solitary wicket in one match.
Thakur switched to Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017 and performed decently. His career showed an upward trend after he joined the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2018. Thakur won two IPL seasons with CSK and was the most successful bowler for the franchise the previous season.
CSK have released the right-arm pacer, and the Punjab Kings could bid aggressively for him at the mega auction to reacquire his services.