Punjab Kings' 'Accidental Player' Shashank Singh Inspires Memes After Match-Winning Performance

Shashank Singh, whom Punjab Kings reportedly signed by mistake at the last Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, unleashed his inner beast in the match against Gujarat Titans on Thursday, April 4. The batting all-rounder struck an unbeaten 61 off 29 balls when Punjab were chasing a challenging 200-run target at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Thanks to his fiery knock, PBKS wrapped up the away game on a triumphant note, registering a three-wicket victory.

Shashank Singh was able to create much buzz in December last year after the Punjab-based franchise secured his services at the base price of Rs 20 lakh for the 2024 IPL auction. The team management seemingly got confused by the name of the player and ended up signing the “wrong” one. After the deal was sealed in the accelerated round, PBKS owners Pretty Zinta and Ness Wadia urged the auctioneer, Mallika Sagar, to reverse it.

As the hammer had already come down, there was no chance for a U-turn. After the PBKS owners revealed their confusion, Mallika said, “It was a wrong name? You don’t want the player? We are talking about Shashank Singh. But the hammer has come down. Player No. 236 and 237 both went to you.”

The franchise, however, later clarified the fact that they had purchased the Shashank Singh they wanted to. “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 on board and see him contribute to our success,” PBKS wrote in an official statement.

No matter what happened at the mini-auction, the 32-year-old looks to have all the qualities to become a name of trust in the Punjab middle-order. Following his match-winning knock against Gujarat Titans, social media was flooded with hilarious posts and memes referring to PBKS’ decision at the auction.

One fan wrote on X, “I really hope this is the Shashank they actually wanted to buy cause imagine buying someone by mistake and he turns out to be your best middle-order player.”

A post featured the reaction of Pretty Zinta after Shashank Singh guided Punjab Kings to secure the thrilling win over Gujarat Titans.

“If you ever feel unwanted, remember Shashank Singh is winning matches for a team that didn’t want him in the first place,” shared a person on X.

Here are some other reactions:

Apart from Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma and Ashutosh Sharma also demonstrated their batting talent in the match against Gujarat Titans. Prabhsimran scored a 24-ball 35 while Jietsh and Asutosh showcased their big-hitting prowess, registering 16 and 31 runs respectively, in the end.