The accelerated round of the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai was designed for speed, not second thoughts. But a brief, awkward pause after Punjab Kings won the bid for Shashank Singh exposed how thin the margins can be when names, not just numbers, collide.

Moments after the hammer came down, PBKS attempted to convince auctioneer Mallika Sagar that it had not intended to buy the player. The franchise later clarified that the episode stemmed from a case of mistaken identity, pointing to the presence of two players with the same name in the auction pool.

In a statement, Punjab Kings insisted that the Shashank Singh it secured “was always on our target list”, adding that the confusion arose because “two players of the same name” were available. The franchise said it was “delighted to have him on board”.

There was, indeed, another Shashank Singh who went under the hammer earlier and remained unsold. The player bought by PBKS, an all-rounder from Chhattisgarh who has previously represented Sunrisers Hyderabad, responded on social media with a note of reassurance, posting: “It’s all cool … thank you for trusting on me!!!!”

Published on Dec 16, 2025