Punjab Kings released players 2023: PBKS retained players 2023 list

Punjab Kings have released and retained nine and 16 cricketers respectively ahead of the mini-auction for the 16th season of the Indian Premier League. Although there’s no compulsion of exhausting the 25-player quota, Punjab would look to buy as many players as possible with an eye on a maiden title yet again.

Following their today’s decision, Kings will enter another auction with a hefty purse under their belt. Having saved as much as INR 32.20 crore today, Kings have the second-biggest purse before the auction.

Having had a history of both spending in a carefree manner but still not making the most of an auction, PBKS would want to categorically better the second part to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

One of the two teams alongside Sunrisers Hyderabad to even let go of their captain from the last season, Kings will be playing under Shikhar Dhawan in IPL 2023.

Readers must note that Dhawan had become the 14th cricketer to lead PBKS in Mayank Agarwal’s absence earlier this year. Having led a second-choice Indian squad on several occasions, the 36-year old would be wanting to participate fully towards Punjab building a strong squad for the next season.

In addition to Agarwal, they have also released the likes of Odean Smith and Sandeep Sharma among others. On the contrary, the likes of Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh and Raj Bawa have all been retained perhaps due to their rich potential. With the franchise backing these rookie players, the ball is now in their court to perform and make these opportunities count.

Punjab Kings released players 2023

Mayank Agarwal, Odean Smith, Vaibhav Arora, Benny Howell, Ishan Porel, Ansh Patel, Prerak Mankad, Sandeep Sharma, Writtick Chatterjee.

PBKS retained players 2023 list

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shahrukh Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar.