The auction for the IPL 2024 was a grand affair and 10 IPL franchises spent a huge amount of money in buying the players for their teams. Undoubtedly, the atmosphere at the Coca-Cola arena, Dubai must be a little tensed or rather we should say intense as each franchise wanted to have the best players in their teams but amidst all this, Punjab Kings did something which gave enough fodder to meme makers.
In a case of mistaken identity, the members of Punjab Kings got confused between two players of the same name – Shashank Singh. The first Shashank Singh is a 32 yrs old cricketer from Chattisgarh who has earlier played for Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad and the second Shashank Singh is a 19-yr player who hasn’t made his first class debut till now.
What increased the confusion more was the fact that both the players were listed at the price of Rs. 20 lakhs. PBKS bought the 32 years old Shashank Singh quite easily as no other franchise was interested in bidding for him but after buying him, the members of PBKS realized that they made a mistake.
The owners of PBKS, Ness Wadia and Preity Zinta signaled towards the auctioneer Mallika Sagar but they weren’t allowed to reverse the bid as the hammer had come down.
This resulted in social media platforms getting flooded with memes and here are some selected ones:
Punjab Kings yesterday… https://t.co/hMmjL8hLVL pic.twitter.com/mIfWX3iBrs
— Bengaluru Betala (@gururaj_mj) December 20, 2023
31 year old Shashank Singh pic.twitter.com/Hf9sEftpoM
— ಜಯಂತ್ ಟಿ ಜಿ (@TgJayanth) December 20, 2023
Ayyo 😂 Nothing could be more appropriate 🤣😝
— ಪ್ರದೀಪ್ Pradeep (@HaavinaHede) December 20, 2023
https://twitter.com/Hypercraft58/status/1737178916031508882
https://twitter.com/ashutosh0716/status/1737318425796735176
So Punjab wanted 19 year old Shashank Singh but mistakenly brought 32 year old Shashank Singh…..hm.. https://t.co/2WbZVADOvb pic.twitter.com/zfxjI2DebJ
— Partha (@pvstudio4) December 19, 2023
However, later on, the IPL team Punjab Kings clarified that they haven’t made any mistake and they have bought the player whom they were targeting, it was just that they got confused because of the same name of two players.
They also welcomed Shashank Singh in the team, the official Twitter handle of PBKS tweeted, “Punjab Kings would like to clarify that Shashank Singh was always on our target list. The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. We are delighted to have him onboard and see him contribute to our success.”
🚨 Official Update 🚨
Punjab Kings would like to clarify that Shashank Singh was always on our target list. The confusion was due to 2 players of the same name being on the list. We are delighted to have him onboard and see him contribute to our success.
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) December 20, 2023
In another tweet, they wrote, “Two players of similar names on the IPL list created confusion. I am delighted to share that the right Shashank Singh has been onboarded. He has put out some noteworthy performances, and we’re ready to unleash his talent.”
Two players of similar names on the IPL list created confusion. I am delighted to share that the right Shashank Singh has been onboarded. He has put out some noteworthy performances, and we're ready to unleash his talent.
– Satish Menon
CEO, Punjab Kings.— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) December 20, 2023
Ik hor 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡 included to #SaddaSquad! 🦁#IPL2024Auction #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #JazbaHaiPunjabi pic.twitter.com/I0ON3p1DSa
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) December 19, 2023
Well, it’s good that the franchise has clarified but still they should be more professional and efficient in their working style as such incidents have a bad effect on a person’s confidence.
