In an unexpected turn of events, the Punjab Kings accidentally acquired Shashank Singh at the 2024 IPL Auction due to a mix-up. When Shashank Singh was called out, the auctioneer, Mallika Sagar, started the rapid bidding phase, which is when the pandemonium started. The uncapped 32-year-old, who was previously with Sunrisers Hyderabad and hails from Chattisgarh, was not sold at the previous auction.
The only team that put up a bid for Shashank was the Punjab Kings, who made the error of hiring him in Dubai. The team’s owners, Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta, discovered their error and revealed they had mistaken Shashank for a different player just moments after the hammer confirmed the purchase. Mallika Sagar insisted that the decision is final once the hammer falls, even though they made an effort to correct the error.
sale rules forbade such reversals after the gavel, which denotes a confirmed purchase, however Wadia and Zinta attempted to bring Shashank back into the sale. With a T20 record spanning 55 matches, Shashank has amassed 724 runs at a strike average of 135.83 and 15 wickets. Harshal Patel was the team’s most expensive addition, coming in at INR 11.75 crore.
Mike Hesson and Suhail Chandok questioned the actions of the Punjab Kings.
This unique occurrence caught the Punjab Kings off guard, and they were unable to cancel their unintentional purchase. This illustrates how strict the rules are for IPL auctions, even in cases of misidentification. Anchor Suhail Chandok expressed disgust during a Jio Cinema segment, saying that the franchise seemed unsure of how to handle the matter. He stated, “If you are clear with your plans, we don’t see that in the auction.”
Commenting on Punjab’s actions during the auction, show expert Mike Hesson said, “I’m not sure what Punjab achieved from this IPL auction.” Though they lack content, they have a large number of backups.
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