IPL 2022: Questions aplenty as Punjab, Bangalore begin campaigns

Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore - the two perennial underachievers in the T20 league - will take on each other in their respective IPL opener on Sunday night.

Mayank Agarwal will be the new captain for Punjab Kings.

Will a new captain revive its fortune in the Indian Premier League (IPL)? Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore - the two perennial underachievers in the T20 league - will be hoping for an affirmative answer to the lingering question while taking each other on in their respective IPL opener on Sunday night. While RCB fans will be keeping their fingers crossed for Faf du Plessis to carry forward his rich legacy from the CSK yellows to Bangalore’s red and golden jersey, Punjab will be hoping for the Karnataka captain-coach combination of Mayank Agarwal and Anil Kumble to start its 2022 sojourn on a winning note.

 

READ |

Despite Virat Kohli, having given up the captaincy after leading RCB for nine editions, and du Plessis hogging the limelight, it will be interesting to see how RCB copes up with the absence of its Austrlian trio for the first two weeks. Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood and Jason Behrendorff will miss the opening part due to their international commitments. Punjab will be without Nathan Ellis since he, too, is in Pakistan. The game will also witness the return of IPL action to the Dr. DY Patil Sports Stadium. Having hosted two of the first three IPL finals, the Navi Mumbai stadium last staged an IPL game in May 2019.