Bollywood actor and owner of Kings XI Punjab Team, Preity Zinta, and team mentor Virendra Sehwag at the 2018 IPL auction. Photo: Getty ·(MANJUNATH KIRAN via Getty Images)
Purchased for $76m (￡60.7m) ahead of the India Premier League’s inception in 2008, Mohali-based Punjab Kings are still waiting to land a first IPL trophy after 15 years.
Despite featuring top players such as Yuvraj Singh, Shaun Marsh, Virender Sehwag, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist over the years, they have reached the semi-finals or play-offs just twice. Their only final appearance came in 2014 when they were beaten by Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Kings, who play at the 27,000-capacity Inderjit Singh Bindra Stadium, finished third in the opening IPL, while their inconsistency was underpinned when they came last — one of three wooden spoons — the year after their runners-up finish. Consistency comes in their IPL placing; they have placed sixth in the last four editions up until the 2023 competition of the world’s richest cricket league.
Tibet's exiled Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama speaks with Adam Gilchrist, captain of Kings XI Punjab in 2011. Photo: Reuters ·(Stringer India / reuters)
Star players
Shikhar Dhawan – India
Recorded a lavish187 off 174 balls in 2012/13 — the fastest Test ton by a debutant — for India against Australia in Mohali. Aged 37, he now leads from the front for the Punjab franchise. In the 2023 edition, he became the third batsman to complete 50 half-centuries in the IPL, behind David Warner and Virat Kohli.
Arshdeep Singh – India
The left-arm paceman is The Kings’ leading wicket-taker in IPL 2023. A consistent performer over the last three years, Arshdeep is also a masterful death bowling exponent. Signed for Kent for a two-month spell in the 2023 county championship season.
Punjab Kings' Shikhar Dhawan plays a shot during the 2023 Indian Premier League. Photo: Getty ·(DIBYANGSHU SARKAR via Getty Images)
Behind the Punjab Kings brand
The Punjab Kings is owned by Mohit Burman (Dabur), Ness Wadia (Wadia Group), actress Preity Zinta (PZNZ Media) and Karan Paul (Apeejay Surrendra Group), with former Kerala state batsman Satish Menon as the franchise’s CEO.
Burman is chairman of Dabur India, the world's largest ayurvedic and natural healthcare company. He also chairs and owns a reported 48% of KPH Dream Cricket Pvt. Ltd.
Preity and Wadia have an equal share of 23% while Paul, chair of one of India's oldest and largest privately-owned family businesses, has an 8% stake in the Kings’ franchise. Overall, the quartet paid $76m.
Preity Zinta and Australian cricketer Brett Lee attend a news conference ahead of the inaugural IPL in 2008. Photo: Reuters ·(Ajay Verma / reuters)
“As far as the sports dynamics is concerned, the IPL has become a good profession for players to explore. It has also benefited the allied business and the overall sports industry becoming more professional,” Indian businessman Wadia told The Hindu in an interview.
Formally Kings XI Punjab, the franchise changed its name to Punjab Kings ahead of the 2021 IPL auction. Eleven years earlier, the Kings, along with Rajasthan Royals, both had their licences terminated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The BCCI had suspended then commissioner Lalit Modi and investigated bribery allegations in the 2008 awarding of the franchise bids.
Despite the controversy, their brand value has remained strong, perhaps in part to their focus on power batting over the years. That elusive title still remains, however.
The money spinners
Valued by Forbes at $925m, the Kings’ revenue comes in at a reported $31.2m, with an operating income of $9.8m.
While they were purchased as the third cheapest franchisw team in 2008, they drew gasps when The Kings landed Englishman Sam Curran for $2.25 in the 2023 auction. Their next biggest bid netted Sikandar Raza for $60,000.
Watch:'World-class' Curran becomes most expensive IPL player
Curran returned to the Punjab Kings following a bidding war involving the Chennai Super Kings, as he became the most expensive player in IPL history.
The Punjab Kings’ top-tier sponsor is mobile payment solution EbixCash, who signed in 2019.
Did you know…
The Kings were on the receiving end of the IPL’s highest successful run chase when Rajasthan Royals reeled in their 224 with three balls remaining in 2020.
To underline Punjab’s batting pedigree, they were one of five teams who breached the 200-mark four times in the 2023 IPL season, one away from achieving a record five.
Punjab Kings have failed to make it out of the group stage in 13 of the 15 editions, and have the second-worst win percentage
What they say..
“It’s been incredible since day one. It has been amazing to see the young players come from nowhere and become stars. And that way, the IPL has had a major impact on the sporting scene of the country. After the IPL, so many other leagues have opened up.” Co-owner Ness Wadia
Kings XI Punjab team co-owner Ness Wadia speaks to media outside BCCI headquarters in 2010. Photo: Getty Images ·(The India Today Group via Getty Images)
“It meant an investment of five million dollars which I thought I could do. Once I bought the team, I went to Harvard Business School. I did everything I could to learn this business and then I got obsessed with IPL." Preity Zinta (2012 interview)
"We are much more than a team, but a family which has come together and built a connect with our fans through our relentless hard work. The new brand logo and name are an extension to our undying spirit of fighting against all odds and celebrating the true spirit of Punjab." The franchise on their name and logo change
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