Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan is set to replace Mayank Agarwal as Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).
Agarwal was made captain for the IPL 2022 after K L Rahul decided to move to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Under Mayank’s captaincy, Punjab Kings finished sixth in IPL 2022, despite having plenty of match winners like Liam Livingstone, Dhawan, Odean Smith, and Kagiso Rabada among many others. Besides the team’s inconsistent run, Agarwal’s form also dipped as he managed 196 runs at an average of 16.33.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the decision of Dhawan to replace Mayank was approved on Wednesday during a board meeting of PBKS and was backed by Trevor Bayliss, Kings’ newly appointed head coach.
Agarwal joined the Punjab Kings (formerly Punjab Kings XI) in 2018. In his IPL career, Mayank has played 113 matches and has scored 2327 runs with the highest score of 106 runs. He has an average of 22.59 and a strike rate of 134.28. He has smashed a century and 12 half-centuries so far.
Shikhar Dhawan was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs. 8.25 crore in the IPL 2022 mega auction. In IPL 2022, Dhawan smashed 460 runs in 14 games with a strike rate of 122.66 and an average of 38.33.
Dhawan has been a captain in 11 matches of the IPL to date. Out of which ten were for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014 and one was for Punjab Kings in the previous season. He has registered four wins and seven losses under his captaincy.
