IPL 2024 Auction: How Punjab Kings Bought 'Wrong Player', Then Denied Reversal By Auctioneer

The Punjab Kings committed a big gaffe in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction as they bought the 'wrong player'. Upon realising the mistake, the franchise did raise the issue with the auctioneer Mallika Sagar but was informed that the bid has already been completed, hence it cannot be reversed. The player to be at the center of this chaos was uncapped Indian Shashank Singh, who despite being bought in the auction, is unlikely to be in a happy mood knowing the franchise that made a successful bid for him, didn't even want him in the first place.

The franchises that are in the auction room have an entire roster of players on their laptop screens. All franchises do their homework before reaching the auction room, analysing which players they need to buy, including those famous and the lesser-known ones. 

But, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta, and their team made a blunder on the auction table as they mistook Chattisgarh player Shashank Singh for someone else. But, by the time they could repair the damage, the player was already sold. 

The epic scenes in the auction room were truly unprecedented as Punjab Kings made a mockery of their own auction strategy. Here's the video:

Fantastic scenes here as the notoriously inept Punjab Kings manage to not only purchase a player they didn't want, (Shashank Singh), they also admit to this in front of literally everyone. Singh we can guess is sat at home wondering whether to show up in March. #IPLAuction #pbks pic.twitter.com/PtLQv9t07H

— Punjab Kings UK (@PunjabKingsUK) December 19, 2023

How PBKS bought 'unwanted' Shashank Singh For INR 20 Lakh:

Shashank Singh was brought up in the accelerated phase of the auction, with PBKS and other franchises looking to buy some uncapped Indian players in the category of INR 20 lakh base price.

When Shashank's name was brought up, Preity Zinta raised the paddle after discussing the player with her team. The player was quickly sold as no other franchise bid for him, and the hammer went down. 

When the auctioneer Mallika moved to the next set of players, with Tanay Thyagrajan, being the first name up, PBKS realised their mistake.

Preity, Wadia and others on the PBKS table found out that they mistook Shashank for some other player. 

"It was a wrong name? You don't want the player?" asked Mallika. "We are talking about Shashank Singh. But the hammer has come down. Player No. 236 and 237 both went to you."

Wadia even seemed to be voicing his displeasure at the sale but Mallika remained firm on her stance, saying the hammer has come down.

"I think the hammer has come down for 237 (Shashank) as well," she said.

Despite not wanting the player in the first place, PBKS had no option but to add him to their roster.

Topics mentioned in this article

Punjab Kings Shashank Singh IPL 2024 Cricket