What exactly happened as PBKS raised the paddle for wrong player and signed Shashank Singh?
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) wrapped up their squad for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, with the purchase of Harshal Patel and Chris Woakes being the key takeaways.
The IPL auction floor is a high-octane and charged atmosphere and considering the competitiveness among the franchises for players as well as the magnitude of the occasion, it is not always a smooth process.
The 2024 auction is no different as Mallika Sagar, conducting the IPL auction for the first time, had to deal with a few testing moments. One such moment came during the closing stage of the auction - the accelerated round - where the Punjab Kings (PBKS) placed a bid of ₹20 lakh for uncapped Indian player Shashank Singh.
Everything went smoothly up until that point, with PBKS securing the services of the player after no other paddle was raised on the auction floor. Naturally, the auctioneer sold the player to the franchise and moved on to the next as per protocol.
However, just when the process for the next player was being conducted, the personnel on the PBKS auction table - Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta, Sanjay Bangar, and Trevor Bayliss among others interrupted the proceedings by stating that they bought the wrong player. They wished to reverse the blunder and have the amount credited back to their purse as well as free up the slot occupied by Shashank Singh.
Mallika Sagar, however, made it very clear that once the hammer has come down, the decision cannot be taken back. As a result, PBKS had to settle with the wrong player in their squad and make peace with it.
While the player will be rewarded financially with this deal, he will be heading into the season knowing that the franchise did not want him in the first place and instead wanted his namesake.
Delhi Capitals also bid for the wrong player like PBKS during IPL 2024 Auction but got away with it
Delhi Capitals (DC) launched a bid when Sumeet Varma's name came up during the auction when in reality, they wanted to bid for Sumeet Kumar. Luckily for the franchise, they caught up on the misunderstanding right away and asked for their bid to be canceled.
Since the hammer was not brought down, and the auctioneer was still looking for a counter-bid, DC's bid was reversed, leading to the player being unsold.
DC eventually got their player as the auction progressed as they roped in Sumeet Kumar for his base price.
What do you make of PBKS' blunder at such a high-profile event? Let us know what you think.