Indian batter Mayank Agarwal was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 8.25 crore at the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday. The star batter entered the auctions with a base price of INR 1 crore.
Mayank Agarwal had joined Punjab Kings in 2019 and ever since then, he went on to become an integral part of the side. He formed an explosive opening pairing with KL Rahul until the latter left the side earlier this year. Following Rahul’s exit from the side, Mayank took over the responsibility of captaincy of Punjab Kings, however, under his leadership Kings endured a disappointing season as they finished 6th in the points table – with 7 wins and as many losses in 14 games.
He has been one of the consistent performers in the IPL, having scored 332 runs in 2019, 424 runs in 2020, and 441 runs in 2021. However, the responsibility of captaincy also affected Mayank’s game. In 2022, while leading the side he faced a major dip in his form and he could only score 196 runs in 13 games at an average of 16.33 with one half-century. Following his poor run in the 2022 edition of the IPL, the Punjab Kings released their star opener Mayank Agarwal, who had led the side in the previous edition of the league.
Chris Gayle Slammed Punjab Kings
While he has found a new home in SunRisers Hyderabad, however West Indies superstar Chris Gayle, who had played alongside Mayank during the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Indian Premier League in Punjab, criticized the franchise for their “disappointing” treatment of Mayank. Chris Gayle slammed his former team Punjab Kings for not treating Mayank Agarwal well and for releasing him. He said:
“Mayank will definitely get picked. I would be very disappointed if he doesn’t. Because he is such an explosive player,”
He added: “He has probably hurt within himself at not being retained by Punjab after what he sacrificed for the franchise and to be treated like that is disappointing but I hope teams still believe in him and give him good money. He is a fantastic team man as well,”
Gayle also said an unsettled playing eleven has contributed to Punjab’s inconsistency over the years. He said: “They chop and change man, it is ridiculous. You keep chopping and changing, they never have a set eleven whether you win a match. Sometimes they would go with the same team but so often players don’t feel comfortable (with too much changes),” said Gayle.
“When they do get a chance and IPL is already pressure, so (with that sort of approach) you end putting more excessive pressure and with that you won’t see them flourishing within the game.”
