Ex-India cricketer and Punjab Kings (PBKS) coach Anil Kumble on Tuesday said that the PBKS was interested in retaining star Indian batter KL Rahul but he wanted to leave the team and ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction.
It is to be noted that Punjab Kings retained only 2 players – Mayank Agarwal (Rs 12 crore) and Arshdeep Singh (Rs 4 crore).
Speculations are rife that KL Rahul can be picked by Lucknow franchise, which is a new IPL team. It is to be noted that Lucknow and Ahmedabad have time until December 25 to buy three players each. Some reports claimed that Lucknow is willing to pay more than Rs 20 crore to buy Rahul and he would also be appointed the skipper of the new team.
“Of course, the major challenge for us was Rahul. Obviously, we wanted to retain him. That’s one of the reasons we chose him as captain 2 years ago, so he could be the core of the team. But he decided to go into the auction, we respect that decision. It’s the players’ prerogative,” Anil Kumble said.
Rahul has been one of the best performers in the IPL, scoring more than 600 runs in three of the last four seasons of IPL.
Meanwhile, Kumble ahinted that opener Mayank Agarwal might lead PBKS in IPL 2022. “I think when it comes to Mayank, the last 3 to 4 years, he has been with us, he has done exceptionally well for us. In the two years, I have been involved with the franchise, he has been very, very successful. Of course, he is again a potential leader. He has been around the IPL and international cricket for a long time,” Kumble added.
“Regarding Arshdeep Singh, he has someone who has come up in the last two years I have been involved in Punjab. He is only 21, to show that kind of maturity and temperament, we wanted to ensure he stayed with the franchise for a long period of time,” he added.
