I don’t think Punjab Kings would want to put Shashank Singh back in the auction now: Steve Smith

Australia cricketer Steve Smith has opened up on Punjab Kings all-rounder Shashank Singh’s performance, suggesting that the franchise would not want to put him back in the auction. Notably, it had emerged that the franchise had bid for Shashank mistakenly at the December auction before a formal clarification cleared the air. Shashank was the chief architect of Punjab Kings' impressive three-wicket win against Gujarat Titans recently, where his undefeated 29-ball 61 helped his team chase 200 in Ahmedadabd.

“Yeah, it was incredible. They wanted to put Shashank Singh back in the auction, but I'm not sure they'd want to do that now. That was an incredible knock. 61 of 29 balls, that was great to witness, under pressure, that partnership in the back end was outstanding. So the game has everything; it went right down to the wire,” Smith told Star Sports. 

Also read: IPL 2024 Who is Shashank Singh? Everything you need to know about Punjab Kings star

Former England cricketer Stuart Broad spoke on Punjab Kings' comeback against Gujarat Titans. “Yeah, after 10 overs of the Punjab Kings innings, I thought it was almost game done, to be honest. I thought the Titans were fully in it with Rashid Khan still having some overs to bowl. But Shashank came out and just found the boundary with ease, particularly his pull shots that were just flying into the stands, and he deserved that. It wouldn't have been fitting for him to have finished on the losing side. He really dragged his team over the line in these final few overs.”

Broad also opened up on Ashutosh Sharma’s innings. Ashutosh's 17-ball 31 came at a critical juncture in the game and he was involved in a match-winning 43-run stand with Shashank.

“Incredible, I think the sweep shot is a real strength of his, and what surprised me really is he was very aware of where the fielders were. So that is a skill when you're under pressure, you know, big ground, big stadium, you go out as an impact sub, there's lots going on in your mind. So having the clarity to pick the gaps and find the boundary with the shot selection was really good, and Punjab wouldn't have got that result without him coming in and just injecting those boundaries.”

Also read: IPL 2024: Who is Ashutosh Sharma? Everything you need to know about Punjab Kings' big-hitting sensation

Stuart Broad added, "You do get different stadiums where it's just more difficult to take catches, just the vision of it off the bat. Sometimes, you can lose sight of it in the crowd. And as soon as you lose sight of it off the bat, you tense up, your shoulders go tense, and that makes it so much harder to catch. So there are some stadiums where you don't get quite the visuals that make it very hard to take a catch."