IPL 2022 | Punjab Kings wanted to retain KL Rahul, but respect his decision to enter auction, says Anil Kumble

12/01/2021

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After the retention list was officially announced by the IPL franchisees, Punjab Kings coach Anil Kumble has stated that the team wanted to retain KL Rahul, but the right-hand batsman had decided to enter the auction. Kumble also hinted that Mayank Agarwal might lead the franchise in IPL 2022.

Punjab Kings on Tuesday announced their retention list for IPL 2022, and only two players were retained by the franchise for the 15th edition of the tournament. The Punjab-based franchise retained Mayank Agarwal for Rs 12 crore and uncapped left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh for Rs 4 crore. However, the absence of KL Rahul from the retention list was very shocking to the fans and experts.

Several reports suggested that Rahul is all set to part ways with Punjab Kings, and is looking forward to the upcoming mega auction ahead of IPL 2022. The right-hand batsman was purchased by the Punjab Kings for a whopping 11 crore ahead of IPL 2018 after he was released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, Rahul became one of the most consistent performers with the bat for the franchise since 2018.

Rahul started off his journey for Punjab Kings with 659 runs in the 2018 season, and he continued his good run in the following season and aggregated 593 runs. The Karnataka batsman was named as the skipper of the Punjab-based franchise in 2020, and the pressure of the captaincy did not affect his run-scoring ability, and he finished with 670 runs and 626 runs in IPL 2020 and IPL 2021 respectively.

Meanwhile, Anil Kumble has stated that the Punjab Kings wanted to retain Rahul for IPL 2022, but the right-hand batsman decided to enter the auction. Kumble further added that the team management respect Rahul’s decision to get into the auction.

“Of course, the major challenge for us was Rahul. Obviously, we wanted to retain him. That’s one of the reasons we chose him as captain 2 years ago, so he could be the core of the team. But he decided to go into the auction, we respect that decision. It’s the players’ prerogative,” Anil Kumble said in a video posted on iplt20.com.

Punjab Kings head coach, Kumble also hinted that Mayank Agarwal might lead the franchise in IPL 2022 saying that the right-hand batsman is a ‘potential leader’. Kumble further lauded Arshadeep Singh, and stated that the pacer’s maturity and temperament forced the franchise to retain him.

“I think when it comes to Mayank, the last 3 to 4 years, he has been with us, he has done exceptionally well for us. In the two years, I have been involved with the franchise, he has been very, very successful. Of course, he is again a potential leader. He has been around the IPL and international cricket for a long time,” Kumble added.

“Regarding Arshdeep Singh, he has someone who has come up in the last two years I have been involved in Punjab. He is only 21, to show that kind of maturity and temperament, we wanted to ensure he stayed with the franchise for a long period of time,” he added.

PBKS will head into the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022, with the biggest purse of Rs 72 crore after retaining only 2 players before the deadline.