Too much of a nice guy, and this game isn't for nice guys: Sanjay Manjrekar after PBKS released Mayank Agarwal

Bengaluru, Nov. 16: Ahead of the new season of the Indian Premier League, Punjab Kings let go off former skipper Mayank Agarwal. Agarwal, who had taken over the reigns from KL Rahul, endured a tough outing in the 2022 edition of the IPL.

Eventually, the opener was replaced as skipper by Shikhar Dhawan. Following a tough season, where he scored just 196 runs at an average of 16.33, the Punjab franchise let go of the former skipper. Punjab had missed out on the playoffs, finishing sixth on the points table.

Speaking on Star Sports show 'IPL - Special Retention Show', former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar said, "See, it's a very interesting case with Mayank Agarwal, for one, the price tag doesn't help when you've had a bad season. There's a temptation of releasing that player and using that money to may be rebuy or you know, look at another option. But the thing about Mayank Agarwal? Too much of a nice guy, and this game is not for nice guys.

"I mean he had a phenomenal couple of seasons at the top of the order with KL Rahul. He actually out-batted KL Rahul at the top position, became the captain and ideally you would want one more year for a guy to prove himself. And the worst thing that could have happened to him was that he sacrificed his opening position where he was phenomenal and went down the order. Which meant that batting became more difficult, and the runs didn't come, the pressure built up. So, I feel sorry for him, but he'll be a very very attractive proposition for teams looking for an opener, because this is the guy who'll get you big scores and at a strike rate of 150, 160 and good against both spin and pace," stated Manjrekar.

The Punjab franchise have released a total of nine players ahead of the mini auction. The Punjab Kings will head into the mini auction with a remaining purse of Rs. 32.20 crore.