The Punjab Kings (PBKS) buying Shashank Singh at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction was a saga in itself. They wanted one Shashank but got the other one. But luckily for the franchise, the ‘actual’ Shashank did wonders for them. In fact, he had a superb IPL 2024 campaign, racking up 354 runs at a staggering strike rate of 164.5.
No Shashank Singh for PBKS in IPL retention scheme?
However, the recent development on Shashank’s part might not be ideal for him and his current IPL franchise. In what has come as a striking update, the 32-year-old has removed “Punjab Kings” from his Instagram bio. His current bio reads, “Professional Cricketer🏏.” However, it previously had PBKS on it. This raises a huge question on if the Preity Zinta-co-owned franchise would retain Shashank.
As per BCCI’s new IPL 2025 retention rules, a franchise can retain an uncapped player for just Rs 4 crore. And with Shashank having a great IPL campaign last season, we thought that his name might crop up on the retention list. However, Shashank’s social media update might be a massive hint that the franchise has forwarded their intentions to the star Chhatisgarh batter.
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“I’ve stopped expecting…”: Shashank Singh
While exclusively talking to Insidesport previously, Shashank touched upon the topic of getting retained by the Punjab franchise. While he asserted that it’ll be good to play for the same franchise, Shashank didn’t rule out the fact that there are nine other teams as well. In the meantime, he didn’t ooze confidence in getting retained by PBKS.
“It’ll be good to play for the same franchise, but if not, there are also good franchises, not only Punjab Kings (PBKS), but all nine franchises. Obviously, I am hopeful that I will play the IPL next year, I’ve stopped expecting anything from everyone or anyone,” Shashank said to Insidesport.
