Why did Punjab Kings choose Mayank Agarwal over Shikhar Dhawan?

As per a news report from Press Trust of India (PTI), Punjab Kings are most likely to go ahead with Mayank Agarwal as the captain of the team over Shikhar Dhawan. The announcement is expected by next week.

The management of Punjab Kings retained just two players ahead of IPL 2022; Mayank Agarwal at Rs 12 crore and Arshdeep Singh at Rs 4 crore. It was evident that the management had big plans for Agarwal and also that there would be a big overhaul in the Punjab Kings team. 

The franchise went into the auction with the fattest purse with Rs 72 crore. With that, the team roped in England's Liam Livingstone (Rs 11.50 crore), India’s explosive batter Shikhar Dhawan (Rs 8.25 crore), Jonny Bairstow (9.75 crore), Kagiso Rabada (9.25 crore), Shahrukh Khan (9 crore) and Harpreet Brar (3.80 crore).

But Mayank doesn't have captaincy experience and only led the team as a captain during one match when KL Rahul was out for surgery, which they lost.  

Still, the management is reported to choose Mayank as the captain over experienced Shikhar Dhawan.

WHY MAYANK OVER SHIKHAR DHAWAN ?

One of the reasons why the franchise reportedly chose to go with Mayank over Shikhar is the former’s presence in the team for quite some time. Franchise’s co-owner Mohit Burman dropped a hint a few days back and said that it is always good to have someone who has been with the team to lead it as the player has a better understanding with coaches. His obvious hint was for Mayank Agarwal who has been with the team since 2018. Shikhar Dhawan is a new entrant in Punjab Kings. He was with Delhi Capitals since 2019.

Even from a batter’s perspective, Mayank Agarwal holds an edge over Dhawan. In the 2021 IPL season, Mayank Agarwal scored 441 runs in 12 matches at an average of 40.09 with a strike rate of 140.44. Dhawan on the other hand scored 587 runs in 16 matches at an average of 39.03 and with the strike rate being 124.62. So, the management’s decision of going for Mayank as the captain makes sense.

Maybe they can hand over the reins to Dhawan later in the tournament if things don't go down well for them in the tournament. In Dhawan, Punjab Kings have a backup captain just like they had in Mayank in the absence of KL Rahul.

Also, it was said that the team owners wanted to retain KL Rahul but he wanted to leave. KL Rahul joined the new IPL team Lucknow Super Giants as the captain.

MAYANK’S ENTRY INTO CRICKET

Mayank had been an impressive cricketer since his school days at Bishop Cotton Boys School, Bengaluru, Karnataka. He won many accolades for his team during those days.

In his neighbourhood too, he was a known face in cricket. In 2010, he got the chance to play in the ICC under-19 World Cup squad for Team India. Though the team couldn’t perform well, Agarwal’s performance stood out from the rest of the lot. He was noticed by the world of cricket.

Mayank Agarwal made his IPL debut back in 2011 with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Though the Bengaluru cricketer rode high on his success in the domestic leagues in his state, his performance in IPL stayed a bit low in the initial years. He worked on his fitness, revamped his game and made a phenomenal comeback in cricket.

In 2018, he was picked by Punjab Kings management. In 2020, playing for Punjab, Agarwal scored 424 runs in 11 matches which included 2 half-centuries and a century. In 2021, he scored 441 runs in 12 matches that included four half-centuries. His stint with Punjab went well.

In 2018, he also made his Test debut for the Indian team in Australia. Since then his journey has been great so far. In February 2019, he made his One Day International debut against New Zealand.

PUNJAB'S HOPE IN MAYANK

Punjab is also one of the teams in IPL history to have never won the title. In 2014, the team reached the finals against Kolkata Knight Riders but lost the game by 3 wickets. Since then, the team has not been able to reach the finals. In the last three editions of the game, the team finished at sixth position.

In Mayank Agarwal, Punjab Kings sees new hope of lifting the title for the first time. The completely new team of Punjab will be out for a big test as the tournament kick-offs on March 27, 2022. The finals will be on May 29, 2022.