IPL 2023 Auction: One of the all-time greatest players of the T20 format Chris Gayle was fuming about how his former franchise Punjab Kings sacked their last season’s Captain Mayank Agarwal. He also said that the franchise is being cruel towards its players & has a tendency to chop & change the team at a “ridiculous level”.
Mayank who had sacrificed his opening slot to accommodate Jonny Bairstow at the top order alongside Shikhar Dhawan in the mid of IPL 2022 was released by Punjab Kings ahead of the IPL 2023 Auction. Mayank who was an integral part of the Punjab Kings franchise couldn’t live up to Kings expectations as he could amass just 196 runs in 13 matches. He couldn’t do great in captaincy also as the franchise finished in sixth place for the fourth time which highlighted their inconsistency. For the unversed, Punjab Kings are yet to win an IPL title & their search for it will continue in IPL 2023.
Speaking to the media, Chris Gayle said that he was deeply hurt by how Punjab Kings has treated Mayank who has sacrificed so much for the franchise. He further said that he hopes that teams still believe in him & will give him good money in the IPL 2023 Auction.
He further criticized Kings approach of cutting & chopping the team & said that they never had a set Playing XI, no matter whether they win or lose a fixture. He also emphasized the fact that players often feel pressurized after so much cutting & chopping within the team & feel uncomfortable with so many changes.
“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,” Chris Gayle said.
The IPL 2023 Auction will commence on December 23 in Kochi with 405 pruned players going under the hammer.
