In an unforeseen twist at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction in Dubai, the Punjab Kings found themselves in the middle of a major blunder as they unintentionally secured the services of the “wrong player”.
The franchise, owned by Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta, mistakenly bid for Chattisgarh player Shashank Singh, only to realise the error when it was too late.
Singh was mistakenly assumed to be someone else by the Punjab Kings team.
The blunder unfolded in the accelerated phase of the auction when Singh’s name was brought up for bidding among uncapped Indian players with a base price of INR 20 lakh.
Zinta, after discussions with her team, raised the paddle for Shashank. Surprisingly, no other franchise bid for him, and the hammer came down, sealing the deal.
The realisation of the mistake dawned on the Punjab Kings as the auction moved on to the next set of players.
It was then that the team acknowledged their error, but auctioneer, Mallika Sagar, confirmed that the bid had already been completed and couldn’t be reversed.
This left the franchise in an unprecedented situation, having to include a player in their roster whom they didn’t originally intend to acquire.
Despite expressing their dissatisfaction and attempting to rectify the situation, Sagar remained firm, stating, “I think the hammer has come down for 237 (Shashank) as well.”
This unprecedented blunder has left Punjab Kings with no choice but to accept Singh into their roster, creating a unique and unexpected narrative in the IPL 2024 auction saga.
