In the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Punjab Kings (PBKS) endured yet another terrible season by missing the playoffs.
Punjab has now missed out on being in the top four and moving on to the competition’s next round for nine years running. Multiple changes in the team have been made by the management, but they haven’t yielded any noticeable results.
PBKS finished ninth in the IPL 2023 points standings, with only six victories from 14 games.
One of the main reasons for their bad performance this season was their terrible bowling assault. Arshdeep Singh, Sam Curran, and Kagiso Rabada have all had poor seasons. The Kings also made some poor tactical moves, which contributed significantly to their early demise.
Despite the disappointing performance, PBKS had a few benefits in IPL 2023. On that topic, let’s look at three advantages they have from this year’s cash-rich league.
1 ) The rise of the youngsters
The emergence of their youth is perhaps the most significant benefit for the Punjab Kings from IPL 2023.
Prabhsimran Singh, a 22-year-old right-handed hitter, is one of them. Despite his outstanding record on the local circuit, he has only played in six games for the franchise since 2019.
The youthful opener appeared in all 14 games this season, scoring 358 runs, including a stunning century against the Delhi Capitals. His runs came at a fantastic strike rate of 150.42, demonstrating the influence he made at the top of the order.
Atharva Taide, 23, was another standout performer, scoring 186 runs in seven games, including two half-centuries.
Punjab have their bases covered for the future with two young top-order hitters performing well.
2) PBKS wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma’s consistency
Jitesh Sharma of PBKS was one of the surprises in IPL 2022, scoring 234 runs at a great strike rate of 163.64. He then performed well on the local circuit and was selected for India’s T20 squads against New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
Jitesh was supposed to be one of the most important players for PBKS in IPL 2023, and the Vidarbha cricketer did not disappoint in the name of the’second-season syndrome’.
This season, the right-handed hitter scored 309 runs with an average of 23.77 and a strike rate of 156.06.
3) Laim Livingstone batting in top four
Liam Livingstone batted in the top four for PBKS in eight of the nine games he played in the IPL 2023. The English batsman did not disappoint, scoring 279 runs with a strike rate of 163.16 percent.
He also had two spectacular performances against the Mumbai Indians (82*) and the Delhi Capitals (94). The right-handed batter also contributed significantly to Punjab’s victory over the Chennai Super Kings (40).
Despite Livingstone’s inconsistency, PBKS got it right by pushing him up the order and subjecting him to further deliveries. He performed a respectable job for someone whose career entails several hazards. This spell will boost Livingstone’s confidence, and he will hope to do better next season.