Going into the IPL Auction for the upcoming 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on February 18 in Chennai, Punjab Kings (formerly known as Kings XI Punjab) were the team to watch out for as they had the biggest purse balance among all the eight franchises of about whopping INR 53.2 crores with as many as 14 slots remaining.

One of the biggest highlights of the IPL 2021 auction was Punjab going hell for leather for Australia’s seamer Jhye Richardson, who had impressed big time during the 2020-21 edition of the Big Bash League. In the end, the franchise managed to include him in their squad at a stunning INR 14 crores. Apart from him, Punjab Kings showed great interest in India’s domestic batting star Shahrukh khan and bagged him for an amazing amount of INR 5.25 crore.

This was a surprising move by the team-management considering that Shahrukh is yet to make his debut in the T20 Extravaganza and for India’s National team. The Mohali-based franchise’s CEO Satish Menon finally disclosed the reason behind indulging in an intense bidding war against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to pick Shahrukh khan.

Shahrukh Khan is a really exciting talent: Satish Menon

Speaking about the same, Menon revealed that Shahrukh had managed to impress the franchise with his talent by delivering stunning performances in the just-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. Also, Punjab was looking for an able batsman who could do the job of a finisher they had assigned to Glenn Maxwell during IPL 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“Shahrukh Khan is a really exciting talent. A player we had a good look at from domestic tournaments. The way he recently played in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was a glimpse of what he is capable of and we are confident that he is someone who will be there for us for a long. Shahrukh has the ability to finish games and we were looking at someone with similar traits. Really happy to get him,” Menon said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Shahrukh featured for the winning team Tamil Nadu in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021.