IPL 2023: Shikhar Dhawan Announced As Punjab Kings' New Captain; Replaces Mayank Agarwal

Veteran India opener Shikhar Dhawan is set to replace Mayank Agarwal as captain of Punjab Kings from IPL 2023.

The decision to appoint Dhawan as the captain was approved on Wednesday during a franchise board meeting and was backed by Trevor Bayliss, Kings' newly appointed head coach, an ESPNcricinfo report.

Agarwal, who was appointed captain just before IPL 2022, was one of two players --Arshdeep Singh being the other -- who had been retained by Kings ahead of the mega auction.

During the IPL 2022 mega auction, Kings paid Rs 8.25 crore to pick 36-year-old Dhawan, who has been among the most consistent batters since the 2016 IPL.

The left-handed opener had a good 2020 season where he scored 618 runs at a strike rate of nearly 145 for Delhi Capitals, who had traded him in from Sunrisers Hyderabad. In his first season for Kings, he scored 460 runs in 14 matches with an average of 38.33 and a strike rate of 122.66.

Dhawan is among the most experienced players in the IPL having been part of it since the inaugural season in 2008. He has been captain in 11 matches (ten at Sunrisers in 2014 and one for Kings last year) with four wins and seven losses in IPL history.

On the other hand, the 31-year-old Agarwal joined the Punjab franchise in 2018 and forged a strong opening pairing with KL Rahul, the captain till last season.

However, Mayank's elevation as the captain coincided with a dip in form as he scored just 196 runs in 13 matches at an average of 16.33. The team didn't do very well either and ended the season in sixth place. So, it remains to be seen whether Punjab Kings will retain or release Agarwal.

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Franchises have until November 15 to submit a list of the players they want to keep ahead of the next IPL.