Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan is all set to feature for the Kings XI Punjab in the next edition of the Indian Premier League. Acquired by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a massive 5.2 Crore, the southpaw could see his salary doubled if he completes the switch to KXIP, according to reports from The Times of India. His transfer would see Karnataka batsman Karun Nair head the other way.
Dhawan was a key member of SRH, who are undoubtedly the best bowling unit in the cash-rich T20 league. He stood tall at the top of the order last season and amassed 497 runs at a healthy strike rate of just over 136.
However, reports have suggested that he isn’t happy with the 2016 champions as they chose not to retain in him ahead of the auction earlier this year. He was also reportedly involved in an argument with coach Tom Moody, which has further worsened matters.
This report may come as a surprise to many, as Dhawan was linked with a move back to his former club Mumbai Indians. Mumbai’s interest could have possibly cooled down due to their acquisition of explosive wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock from Royal Challengers Bangalore.
As for Karun Nair, he did not live up to expectations after a big-money move to Punjab. He was too slow with his scoring rate and failed to get a move on, more often than not. As a result, he only managed two 50+ scores in 13 innings and recorded an average of 25.08.
Other players who could be axed by their clubs are Manish Pandey and Jaydev Unadkat. Both of them were snapped up by SRH and RR respectively for massive fees of over 10 Crore each.
In the coming weeks, we will learn more about the transferred and released players as franchises will prepare their lists soon. The auction for IPL 2019 is scheduled to take place on 16 December, in Goa.