5 reasons why Punjab Kings were out of the playoffs: Mayank's flop show, expensive players did not play

PBKS was touted as one of the balance teams of this season. Fans were sure that the trophy drought of 14 years would finally come to an end. The team of Punjab Kings, living up to the expectations, started IPL 2022 with a bang. This team had achieved a target of more than 200 runs against RCB in their very first match and showed that this time it is a strong contender for victory.

Then the times changed, the circumstances changed and the feelings of the fans also changed. The current situation is that Punjab is out of the playoff race with 6 wins and 7 losses out of 13. Under the coaching of Anil Kumble, Punjab had to face defeat for the third consecutive year. Why did this happen and where did the Punjab team go wrong, understand the whole story in 5 points.

1) Captain Mayank's flop show was heavy on Punjab's hopes

It is said that the team touches the sky by winning, when the captain walks, the chest stretches. When KL Rahul decided to leave Punjab and become a part of the Lucknow team, the PBKS management handed over the captaincy responsibility to Mayank. It was expected that his performance would be better and he would win the team on his own.

Mayank proved to be the most super flop captain of this entire season. After a consistently disappointing performance in the opening, he was sent to the middle order, but even there he did not get runs.

Naturally, the poor performance of the captain affected the rest of the players as well. He could not manage the team with Buland Iqbal. Mayank's poor performance sank the team's loot.

Shikhar Dhawan could have been given the responsibility of captaincy instead of Mayank Agarwal. The senior star player performed well in the tournament. However, he missed out on some big occasions.

Shikhar has been serving as the captain for a long time and he could have taken the team to new heights of success this time too. Shikhar's performance was also far better than Mayank's this season.

The team management showed haste in selecting the captain and as a result, today she is out of the competition. In place of the retained Mayank, the team selected in the auction could have been entrusted with the responsibility of leading the team.

2) Three expensive players could not perform as expected

Punjab Kings bought Jonny Bairstow (6.75 crores), Shahrukh Khan (9 crores), and Odeon Smith (6 crores) in the IPL Mega Auction for a very high price, but all these three players could not do justice with their salaries.

When Jonny Bairstow returned to form in the last matches, it was too late. India's young star Shahrukh Khan was expected to play the role of a finisher by the Punjab team, but he could barely score runs.

In the final, Shahrukh, who was retained after 7 matches, had to drop from the team. Shahrukh's poor performance took a toll on PBKS.

From Caribbean all-rounder Odeon Smith, Punjab had hoped to get quick runs like Gayle. He also did this against Bengaluru in the opening match, but then it was as if his bat got rusted.

Being a flop in batting, he defeated the team with the help of bowling. On his simple bowling, Rahul Teotia snatched the victory from the jaws of Punjab by hitting 2 sixes in the last 2 balls of the last over.

3) There was no express speed bowler from the other end to support Kagiso Rabada

The problem of Mumbai Indians also cropped up in Punjab. Apart from Kagiso Rabada, the team did not have another express speed bowler. A bowler who can threaten the batsmen with pace and take their wickets. Mumbai Indians also found no bowler to put pressure on the batsmen from the other end with Bumrah as a result, with MI becoming the first team to be knocked out of the tournament.

The Punjab team management expressed confidence in Vaibhav Arora, but he was disappointed. Vaibhav could take only 3 wickets in 5 matches. During this, his economy was 9.20.

Arshdeep Singh bowled a little better, but he could not take wickets at the time of need in every match. His performance in pieces was beneficial for the team.

Spinner Rahul Chahar could not leave a mark at all. Due to consistently bowling better for Mumbai Indians, he made him a part of his team in the auction this time in Punjab.

This bet of PBKS turned badly. Dewald Brevis, being called Junior AB, completely spoiled his bowling rhythm by hitting 4 sixes in the same over against Rahul.

While Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav kept their teams victorious in the match, on the one hand, Rahul Chahar failed to do so.

4) Except Livingstone, the rest of the players lacked consistency, the Kings of Punjab were heavy

There was no consistency in the performance of the players. Like Gujarat, Lucknow, and Rajasthan, Punjab did not see the insistence on winning consecutive matches. After every win, she used to lose the match. Barring Liam Livingstone, none of the batsmen could perform consistently in the first 10 matches.

Livingstone is an attacking player. If a batsman of the team at the other end had anchored the innings, Livingstone could play freely and take the team to the big target.

Against Bengaluru, we saw that Livingstone also made a quick 70 when Jonny Bairstow held one end in the opening over while batting brilliantly. The result was that PBKS won the match by a huge margin. Had the team implemented this strategy earlier, it would not have been out of the IPL after losing badly.

5) The attitude of the team management towards the players has been in question for a long time.

The team management of PBKS has been questioned over the years. It is said that there the captain and coach are not given the freedom to select the team according to their own. As a result of this, KL Rahul thought it appropriate to leave his side even after stopping Punjab's lac.

PBKS did not want KL Rahul, one of the most successful batsmen of the tournament, to go into the auction. He was ready to stop Rahul by paying the money he asked for. However, Rahul did not listen to the management. Instead of going to the auction, he thought it appropriate to be a part of the new team Lucknow Super Giants. Rahul became a successful captain as soon as he left Punjab. Today Lucknow Super Giants has made it to the playoffs.

Virender Sehwag also left the coaching of Punjab Kings due to constant interference. This will be the 15th consecutive year when the Punjab team will not be able to win the IPL trophy. Apart from blaming the players, the Punjab Kings management needs to take a peek inside their own pockets. They have to understand that because of their attitude, in the end, the team is at a loss.

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