The speculation over New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, and the team that’ll pick him at the IPL 2024 Auction, just doesn’t cease to end. Now former India Test batsman Abhinav Mukund has come with an explanation, as to why he might be sold to Punjab Kings on Tuesday.
Speaking to Jio Cinema, Mukund said that Punjab tends to spend massive amounts on players who do well on the international circuit, and Rachin might be no different. The new Kiwi star scored 578 runs in the World Cup 2023 and finished with three tons and two fifties in 10 games. To go with that, he also claimed five wickets, which shows his all-round abilities.
“Usually Punjab Kings like the flavour of the season. It’s a fact that there has been a recency bias in terms of the World Cup. Understandable that his T20 numbers are probably not off the (charts) yet, but (there’s) enough evidence of what he can do in India and with Baristow’s unavailability for the later part of the season. Not sure about the English players, I went for a Kiwi,” Mukund said during Jio Cinema’s mock auction.
Rachin Suits Punjab Well for IPL 2024
In the same mock auction, Mukund, who represented Punjab Kings, bought Rachin for INR 7 cr. “So it’s a fight between Bairstow and Rachin at the top, but it’s always good to have a left-hander in that middle order because there are too many righties. Baistow, Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma,” Mukund said.
Meanwhile, Rachin’s base price is set at INR 50 lakh, which might just trigger a bidding war at the IPL 2024 Auction.
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