IPL 2025: The Indian Premier League will be held for the 18th time by the BCCI. One of the world’s most prestigious global leagues, the IPL is considered the biggest platform among franchise-level cricket.
The 2024 IPL was a remarkable one, and there will be a huge mega-auction that will be conducted ahead of the IPL. This mega-auction will be held for players of immense caliber.
PBKS skipper and veteran batter, Shikhar Dhawan, announced his retirement from international as well as domestic cricket and hence ruled him out of contention for the IPL 2025. With Dhawan now gone, PBKS would not only be in search of a player to replace his greatness but also a probable man with leadership qualities.
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Top 3 contenders for replacing Shikhar Dhawan
Ishan Kishan
The Indian veteran batter, Ishan Kishan, will once again emerge as one of the best prospects in the mega-auction. Last time around, he was brought in by the Mumbai Indians at a whopping bid worth of 15 crores.
The wicketkeeper batsman might be released by the Mumbai Indians, and hence there are chances of other teams acquiring him. With his recent start to the Buchi Babu tournament, one can fancy their chances on the left-hander.
Now also having so much experience playing the IPL, he can be offered the role of being appointed the skipper of an IPL team, and for PBKS he meets the role of an explosive opening batsman.
Steve Smith
The mighty Australian is now considered one of the best players in the longest format of the game; however, no one should let go of his heroics in the limited-overs formats and his great plays in the IPL as well.
However, the batsman went unsold for three seasons, and since then this has been a disappointment for Smith in the shortest format as he was also dropped from Australia’s T20 World Cup squad.
After performing decently with the Sydney Sixers and recently having signed a three-year contract with the BBL side, he was also seen in the MLC 2024 with the Washington Freedom, where he turned a great run scorer and even led from the front in the final to lead them to a title triumph in his debut season as a skipper.
For PBKS, he remains one of the best options, as he remains one of the greatest captains in the history of the game.
Sam Curran
English all-rounder Sam Curran was seen playing for the Oval Invincibles in The Hundred and was undoubtedly the best in the tournament. He turned into the only all-rounder, likely surpassing many overruns, as he scored 201 runs and also picked 17 wickets, the third-most in the competition this season.
Oval Invincibles went on to win the 2024 The Hundred competition for the second consecutive time after 2023. He is likely to be released by the Punjab Kings, and then there might be an RTM card to get him back, as that would reduce his whopping price of 18.5 crores, for which he was earlier picked.
He was also seen as the PBKS skipper in the absence of Dhawan and can be very useful occasionally with either bat or ball, as he often contributes with both.
