IPL 2023: Three Reasons for Punjab Kings' failure to make Playoffs this season

It has been another disappointing season for the Punjab Kings in IPL. The Northern side had a decent start to the season, but have gone back to familiar territories with another early exit from the tournament.

This is their 9th consecutive season without a playoff appearance. Their last playoff appearance came back in 2014, when they finished as the runners-up. Despite all of their squad rebuilding and staggering signings, PBKS have come short yet again.

PBKS IPL 2023 Record

PBKS have finished at the 8th position in the league table this season. They can get to 7th place if KKR loses their match against LSG in an excess of 20 runs.

The Kings finished the season with 6 wins and 8 defeats. They had a decent start to the season with two wins in the first two matches. But lost their way completely in the latter half, with just two wins in their last seven league games.

PBKS League Position since IPL 2014

8th (2015), 8th (2016), 5th (2017), 7th (2018), 6th (2019), 6th (2020), 6th (2021), 6th (2022), 7th/8th (2023).

After an unceremonious exit, the frustration is palpable and we found out three key reasons which hindered their qualification hopes yet again-

The dismal outing of Marquee Names

The addition of Sam Curran for INR 18.5 crore in the auction has been a disaster. The Englishman failed to replicate his old self and had a torrid season. Curran scored 276 runs with bat and picked up 10 wickets, but those numbers drastically flatter on the impact that he has had with PBKS this term.

Sikandar Raza, Liam Livingstone also had a minimal effect this season. The latter showed glimpses of his class but was not consistent enough. Also Kagiso Rabada didn't have enough opportunities and could only return with 7 wickets for them.

A consistently inconsistent Batting and Bowling

PBKS batting has been one of their Achilles heels this season. It is safe to say captain Shikhar Dhawan had a decent season, scoring 373 runs in 11 matches. But apart from him, Prabhsimran Singh (358 runs) and Jitesh Sharma (309 runs) were the highest scorers for them.

The collective lack of runs from their batters dented their progress. They have been hugely inconsistent this whole season, with none of their players taking the onus to carry forward the team when it comes to batting.

It was more of a short-term blitz from players like Prabhsimran Singh, Liam Livingstone and others, who failed to carry their batting prowess for a consistent period of time. And even when they batted, their bowling faltered.

PBKS conceded the highest runs of this IPL season when LSG scored 257 runs against them. They also lost against MI after scoring 214 runs. Even in the last two matches, there bowling was below par and looked toothless.

Faiure to rise and win in close situations

PBKS lost two last-over matches this season. They were also involved in a match where they failed to defend 214 runs. All of their shortcomings have been rooted in their inability to see out games or failure to win in crunch situations.

The lack of experience of Shikhar Dhawan also played a part as his decisions in some matches backfired brutally for them. With a traditional habit of falling short, PBKS didn't execute in a better way and paid the price again.