Best Three Overseas Players in Punjab Kings IPL 2024 squad: Chris Woakes, Sikandar Raza, Rilee Rossouw miss out
The Shikhar Dhawan-led side would again be aiming to bring an end to their weight for the maiden IPL trophy. Last season, they finished at the eighth spot in the 10-team table after managing to win just six of their 14 games.
The overseas stars of the team would be expected to step up this season as there are not many senior India cricketers in the squad. Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma and Rahul Chahar are the only players playing for India at the moment.
Punjab Kings instead have a strong presence of overseas stars. They also bought Chris Woakes (Rs 4.20 crore), and Rilee Rossouw in the IPL 2024 auction. We have shortlisted three overseas players who are expected to play a crucial role for Punjab Kings in IPL 2024.
Punjab Kings’ Top 3 Overseas Stars in IPL 2024
Sam Curran: England all-rounder Sam Curran became the costliest-ever buy in IPL when he was bought by PBKS for Rs 18.50 crore in the IPL 2023 auction.
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc broke his record this year, and have grabbed the limelight this year, but Curran would be aiming to remind fans why Punjab broke the bank from him.
Sam Curran’s all-round ability makes him a unique talent. Last year, Curran picked 10 wickets and scored 276 runs at an average of 27.60 and a strike rate of 135.96.
Talking about his T20 stats, he has scored 2880 runs in 260 matches at an average of 20.57 and a strike rate of 133.20. The left-arm pacer has also picked 207 wickets at an average of 28.57. Curran also led Punjab Kings in a few matches last year in Shikhar Dhawan’s absence.
Liam Livingstone: The second big England star in the Punjab Squad, Liam Livingstone will be key to the success of his team. In IPL 2023, he scored 279 runs in nine matches at an average of 34.88 and a strike rate of 163.16.
In the IPL 2022 season, the big-hitter piled up 437 runs in 14 matches at an average of 36.42 and a strike rate of 182.08. Captain Dhawan plays only IPL cricket now, and in his absence Livingstone emerges as the most solid Punjab batter. He can also come handy with his off-spin bowling.
Punjab’s Rs 11.50 crore star has played a total of 255 T20s and scored 6007 runs at an average of 27.81, and a strike rate of 144.60. He has also picked 105 wickets at an average of 27.00.
Kagiso Rabada: The South African pace express had an ordinary session last year, but he would be aiming to bounce back this season. He picked 25 wickets in 2019, 30 in 2020, 15 in 2021, 23 in 2022 and just seven in 2023.
The right-arm pacer missed a lot of games due to fitness issues and other reasons, playing just six matches in IPL 2023. His IPL career has seen him pick 106 runs in 69 matches at an average of 20.74 and an economy rate of 8.42.
Harshal Patel and Chris Woakes have also joined PBKS. Nathan Ellis has retained his place alongside Arshdeep Singh, but Kagiso Rabada is expected to emerge as the key pacer for the Punjab-based franchise.
PBKS Overseas players IPL 2024
Matthew Short, Liam Livingstone, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Woakes, Sikandar Raza, Rilee Rossouw
PBKS IPL 2024 Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajann, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw.
