According to reports, Mayank Agarwal will be the next captain of the Punjab Kings

As per the latest developments, Mayank Agarwal is set to become Punjab Kings captain for the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). One of the two players to be retained by PBKS ahead of the mega auction, Mayank led the side in former skipper KL Rahul’s absence in the last season. The opener has also done well with the bat in Punjab colours.

Owing to the same, PBKS retained him for a whooping INR 12 crore ahead of the bidding event. However, as the franchise didn’t announce him the captain straightaway, speculations rife that the team will target a different captaincy option at the mega auction. As PBKS splashed INR 8.25 crore to get Shikhar Dhawan on board, many reckoned the southpaw is set to get the reins of the team.

In all likelihood, Mayank Agarwal will captain the side: IPL source

However, the latest report narrate a different story. “In all likelihood, Mayank will captain the side. The announcement is expected later this week. Dhawan is a welcome addition to the side and was always on the radar at the auction. He is a champion player but it seems Punjab were keen on Mayank as captain ever since K L Rahul left the team,” an IPL source was quoted as saying by Times Now.

It must be noted that Dhawan has led Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past. He even captained a second-stringed Indian team in the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka last year. However, as Mayank has been with the team since 2018, he’s reportedly being considered ahead of Dhawan for the leadership role.

Meanwhile, PBKS head coach Anil Kumble had revealed that the franchise wanted KL Rahul to continue as the skipper. However, the wicketkeeper-batter, who’ll lead Lucknow Super Giants in the upcoming season, decided to part ways. Hence, they made just a couple retentions. Besides Mayank, the team retained uncapped pacer Arshdeep Singh for INR 4 crore. Hence, they stepped into the mega auction with a purse of INR 72 crore and walked away with a strong team.

Punjab Kings squad: Mayank Agarwal, Prerak Mankad, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Benny Howell, Baltej Singh, Ansh Patel, Liam Livingstone, Rishi Dhawan, Atharva Taide, Odean Smith, Raj Bawa, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Sandeep Sharma, Nathan Elis, Vaibhav Arora, Ishan Porel, Rahul Chahar