IPL 2023 auction: Mayank Agarwal hurt, the way Punjab Kings treated him disappointing, says Chris Gayle

Legendary West Indies player Chris Gayle on Thursday said it was disappointing to see how Punjab Kings released Mayank Agarwal despite all the contributions he made for the former finalists over the years.

Gayle said Agarwal is probably hurt after he was released ahead of the IPL 2023 auction. Mayank Agarwal led Punjab Kings after KL Rahul moved to Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022. The India opener had been one of the most consistent performers for PBKS in IPL, having scored 1513 runs, including a hundred, in 60 matches between 2018 and 2022.

Mayank even sacrificed his opening spot to make sure Jonny Bairstow and Shikhar Dhawan opened for PBKS midway during IPL 2022.

However, they were not able to qualify for the play-offs yet again. PBKS, who haven’t qualified for the play-offs since 2014, finished 6th out of 10 teams in 2022.

PBKS announced Shikhar Dhawan as their new captain ahead of IPL 2023 auction as the team heads into the auction with a purse of Rs 32.2 crore.

“Mayank will definitely get picked. I would be very disappointed if he doesn’t. Because he is such an explosive player,” Gayle told news agency PTI.

“He has probably hurt within himself at not being retained by Punjab after what he sacrificed for the franchise and to be treated like that is disappointing but I hope teams still believe in him and give him good money. He is a fantastic team man as well,” he added.

‘RIDICULOUS’
Shedding light on Punjab’s perennial failures, Gayle said it’s hard to get into the top 4 with a side that doesn’t believe in consistency, saying the chopping and changing at PBKS is “Ridiculous”.

“They chop and change man, it is ridiculous. You keep chopping and changing, they never have a set eleven whether you win a match. Sometimes they would go with the same team but so often players don’t feel comfortable.

“When they do get a chance and IPL is already pressure, so (with that sort of approach) you end putting more excessive pressure and with that you won’t see them flourishing within the game.”

Punjab Kings also sacked head coach Anil Kumble and appointed former England coach Trevor Bayliss for the 2023 season.