10 months ago
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Towards the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction, there was one particular bid that created a lot of social media storm. It was for uncapped Indian player Shashank Singh was roped in for Rs 20 lakh by Punjab Kings. But soon after he was picked in the accelerated auction, there seemed to be some confusion going by the gestures of Punjab Kings co-owners Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta. When Shashank's name was brought up, Preity Zinta raised the paddle after discussing the player with her team. The player was quickly sold as no other franchise bid for him, and the hammer went down.
As there seemed to be some confusion, auctioneer Mallik Sagar said: "It was a wrong name? You don't want the player?" asked Mallika. "We are talking about Shashank Singh. But the hammer has come down. Player No. 236 and 237 both went to you. I think the hammer has come down for 237 (Shashank) as well," she said.
Than incident led to social media storm on how Punjab Kings did not want a player which it had just bought. However, Punjab Kings on Wednesday issued a clarification: "Punjab Kings would like to clarify that Shashank Singh was always on our target list. The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. We are delighted to have him onboard and see him contribute to our success."
Two players of similar names on the IPL list created confusion. I am delighted to share that the right Shashank Singh has been onboarded. He has put out some noteworthy performances, and we're ready to unleash his talent.
- Satish Menon
CEO, Punjab Kings.
Then Punjab Kings' CEO Satish Menon said: "Two players of similar names on the IPL list created confusion. I am delighted to share that the right Shashank Singh has been onboarded. He has put out some noteworthy performances, and we're ready to unleash his talent."
Official Update
Punjab Kings would like to clarify that Shashank Singh was always on our target list. The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. We are delighted to have him onboard and see him contribute to our success.
Now, Shashank Singh himself has responded to the whole 'confusion'. "It's All Cool ... Thank you for Trusting on me!!!!" he wrote on X.
It's All Cool ... Thank you for Trusting on me!!!! https://t.co/Gs9hOnRspa
— shashank singh (@shashank2191) December 20, 2023A PBKS official told PTI on Wednesday that the right player had been picked and he was being scouted by the franchise for quite some time.
"We have picked the right player. He was being scouted by us for quite some time. He is a 32-year-old player from Chhattisgarh who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad during the 2022 season," said the PBKS official.
"Reports are confusing him with a 19-year-old cricketer with the same name." Punjab Kings, formerly Kings XI Punjab, are one of the eight inaugural franchises of the IPL jointly owned by Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman, Preity Zinta and Karan Paul. The team has never won an IPL title.
With PTI inputs
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