During the quick round, Shashank’s name was prepared and called by auctioneer Mallika Sagar. The 32-year-old plays for Chhattisgarh in domestic cricket and was unsold in the auction after being released by Sunrisers Hyderabad last year.
He got the squad for the 2024 IPL after Punjab Kings became the only team to bid for the uncapped all-rounder in Dubai. As soon as Sagar raised his hammer to confirm that Shashank has been sold by the franchise, PBKS owners Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta tell him that they have confused Shashank with some other player, it seems. That they bought it by mistake.
Sagar, however, remained unmoved, saying, “The hammer has come down now,” suggesting Punjab could not go back on their decision and reverse the purchase of Shashank. Wadia and Zinta were keen to put him back in the auction but any auction rules prevent that from happening after the hammer comes down, which corroborates a purchase.
Speaking about the incident on Jio Cinema, anchor Suhail Chandhok criticized the move, saying it seemed like the franchise was unclear about its strategy. “If you are clear about your plans we will not see it in the auction.”
Mike Hesson, who was an expert on the show, took a dig at Punjab’s performance in the auction, saying: “Not sure what Punjab got from this IPL auction. They have a lot of backups but not a lot of content.”
The most expensive purchase for the team was Harshal Patel, who got the team for Rs 11.75 crore. Shashank has played 55 T20s, scoring 724 runs at a strike rate of 135.83 and taking 15 wickets.
