Teams Who Should Bid For Mayank Agarwal
The Punjab Kings it appeared had turned a new leaf ahead of IPL 2022. They appointed Mayank Agarwal as their captain. He was one of the two retained members of the squad. Punjab then brought Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow in the mega auction. It meant they had potentially three openers vying for two slots. Let us look at Teams Who Should Bid For Mayank Agarwal.
The inevitable axe:
Agarwal suffered from indifferent form throughout the season. It left him in a vulnerable situation. The franchise unsurprisingly has decided to drop him from captaincy. If they chose to release him ahead of the mini-auction altogether, it will be interesting to see which teams bid for Agarwal.
We look at Teams Who Should Bid For Mayank Agarwal in the mini-auction:
#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad
They didn’t have the best of seasons last year. SRH had a 5-match winning streak interspersed between a string of losses. Their problem started right at the top. Abhishek Sharma did have a breakthrough season but his opening partner strangely had a quiet one. Captain Kane Williamson failed to turn up the entire season. SRH’s costliest acquisition couldn’t force the pace in the powerplay. They will be well served in pairing Mayank Agarwal at the top with Sharma.
#2 Gujarat Titans
Nobody expected the Gujarat Titans to win the title in IPL 2022. Their win was largely down to Shubman Gill’s solidity at the top. Gill played the anchor’s role to perfection helping the others to excel around him. But his opening partners couldn’t quite match up to the team’s expectations. A player like Mayank Agarwal could be the ideal foil to Gill. Agarwal is someone who gets off the blocks easily. He will complement Gill nicely if Gujarat chose to pick him up
#3 Kolkata Knight Riders
It was a forgettable campaign for the two-time IPL champions. Their opening combination almost always let them down throughout the season. KKR couldn’t be blamed for trying out different pairs but it didn’t work out.
It is here where a player of Agarwal’s calibre can make a difference. He could combine with Venkatesh Iyer to help KKR turnaround things. It will be the ideal right-hand and left-hand combination. KKR’s fearless batting approach will liberate Agarwal even more.
