Shashank Singh, the batter from Chhattisgarh, was wrongly bid for by the Punjab franchise but by the time they realized the same the auctioneer’s hammer had already come down.
It’s called accelerated auction for a reason. With most of the franchises having filled their slots in the bidding process and just the finishing touches left to be made, the player names are called upon fast and the bidders are expected to be on their toes for the same.
On Tuesday in Dubai during the IPL 2024 auction though, the Punjab Kings think tank committed a massive blunder during the latter phase of the auction by bidding for the wrong player.
Get this, when 32-year-old Shashank Singh’s name was brought up in the accelerated round, Punjab Kings co-owner Preity Zinta was seen having an exchange with her entourage before swiftly raising the paddle. But it was only after the auctioneer Mallika Sagar moved onto the next set of players that the Kings realised their mistake. Watch:
Fantastic scenes here as the notoriously inept Punjab Kings manage to not only purchase a player they didn’t want, (Shashank Singh), they also admit to this in front of literally everyone. Singh we can guess is sat at home wondering whether to show up in March. #IPLAuction #pbks pic.twitter.com/PtLQv9t07H
— Punjab Kings UK🇬🇧👑 (@PunjabKingsUK) December 19, 2023
“It was a wrong name? You don’t want the player?” Mallika was heard asking the franchise representatives at the auction when they expressed their concern. “We are talking about Shashank Singh. But the hammer has come down. Player No. 236 and 237 both went to you.”
With Ness Wadia, also an owner of the franchise, furthermore expressed displeasure at the sale, Mallika would keep to her stance on the matter, “I think the hammer has come down for 237 (Shashank).”
Here are the players Punjab Kings have snapped up in the IPL auction:
Harshal Patel | Indian All-Rounder | ₹11,75,00,000
Rilee Rossouw | Overseas Batter | ₹8,00,00,000
Chris Woakes | Overseas All-Rounder | ₹4,20,00,000
Tanay Thyagarajann | Indian All-Rounder | ₹20,00,000
Prince Choudhary | Indian Bowler | ₹20,00,000
Vishwanath Pratap Singh | Indian All-Rounder | ₹20,00,000
Shashank Singh | Indian Batter | ₹20,00,000
Ashutosh Sharma | Indian All-Rounder | ₹20,00,000
Source:indianexpress.com