Punjab Kings (aka Kings XI Punjab) is one of the oldest teams in the Indian Premier League. They joined the league in its Inaugural season in 2008 and since then have produced some amazing matches. However, their track record is not promising as they haven’t been very successful in the cash-rich league. In 15 seasons, PBKS has reached finals twice in the first seven seasons. They last participated in an IPL final in 2014, and over the previous eight seasons, they have failed to make it in the top four.
But despite the lack of ET, the team has a reputation for spending a lot of cash at the auction table. Over the years, the team has made every effort to acquire the best available talent and has spent crores to rope in them. They paid a massive INR 18.5 crore for Sam Curran in the 2023 IPL auction, while breaking all the records. So, today in this article we will discuss the top 3 expensive buys of Punjab Kings.
3. David Miller: 12.5 Crore in 2014
Star South Africa batter David Miller is one of the most exciting talents in T20 cricket. Miller has been phenomenal in the Indian Premier League as he has been a consistent player in IPL history. In 2014 Punjab Kings roped in him for a huge sum of 12.5 crores. He proved to be one of the best buys of the IPL history as he scored 446 runs at a strike rate of more than 149. He was one of the highest run-getters of the season and helped PBKS to play the finals against Kolkata Knight Riders. Miller along with Glen Maxwell hammered opponents and helped PBKS to produce their best performance to date.
2. Jhye Richardson: 14 Crore 2021
After consistent failures, Punjab Kings missed an out bowler in the previous season. The team management identified Jhye Richardson and was keen to board him. In the mega auction, the team went for him aggressively and eventually won the auction. They gave him a huge paycheck of RS 14 Crore.
Though it was meant to address their bowling unit the decision didn’t go well with the team. Richardson played just three games and failed to impress fans and the audience. He took three wickets in three games at a bowling average of 39.00.
1. Sam Curran: 18.5 Crore in 2023
In the ongoing Indian Premier League, Punjab Kings made one of the biggest buys in the history of the cash-rich league. The team roped in star England allrounder Sam Curran for a whopping sum of INR 18.5 crores. Curran became the most expensive player in history by surpassing Yuvraj Singh.
However, in the first five games of the season, Sam Curran has failed to justify the paycheck. The star allrounder has scored 77 runs in five innings at an average of 25.67 with the bat. In bowling he barely managed to clinch five wickets in as many games and has not been consistent. He is consistently struggling against Indian bowlers while batting and will have to find a way out of it.