Punjab Kings IPL Team

When you haven’t reached the playoffs in 11 years, there really isn’t much else that can be done except looking to start from scratch. The Punjab Kings have undergone captaincy changes, a rebrand, a shift to a new stadium — but the change they really want is to become a franchise with a culture of winning. After going into the IPL auction for 2025 with essentially a full purse, an absolute warchest handed over to new coach Ricky Ponting, there is a chance they might do just that as they go into the tournament with what looks to be one of the strongest, most well-rounded squads on paper.

The Kings arrived in the auction with the intention of going hard and heavy after the players they wanted, with a captain being a key requirement. This meant they shelled out a near-record INR 26.75 crore for Shreyas Iyer. Iyer is a fantastic batter, to be sure, but this was a price tag boosted by the Mumbai batter’s ability and track record of leading IPL teams out of the doldrums and towards being competitive. He reunites with Ricky Ponting, the coach alongside whom he captained Delhi Capitals to the most fruitful period in their franchise history. For the Punjab Kings, who have reached the playoffs only twice in 17 seasons, that mentality and nous was worth the extra cash they had to dish out to land Iyer.

Alongside Shreyas, they broke the bank for Arshdeep Singh, who was the best domestic T20 fast bowler available, and Yuzvendra Chahal, the best domestic spinner available. Sure, they shelled out nearly 64 crore on this trio of players, over half their budget, but it gives their team a backbone to build around. It was some clever budget buying, however, that really stands out for PBKS, and what will be key if they want to find success in this tournament. Josh Inglis will take the gloves, Azmatullah Omarzai and Marcus Stoinis provide all-round excellence, Marco Jansen is developing into one of the best white ball bowlers in the world, and most significantly, the Big Show Glenn Maxwell marks yet another return to Mohali, this time with Ponting at his back. Can he inspire this team the way he did all the way back in 2014?

For Punjab and their fans, it does ultimately come down to completely trying to flip the script for a team that has struggled massively throughout their years in the IPL. It is often difficult to shrug off the reputation of being perennial losers who are subjected to bad decisions and subpar cricket, and sometimes the only response can be to completely burn everything to the ground and start afresh. This Punjab Kings team might have the same owners as the start of the IPL, and it might have the same color palette — but outside of that, everything has changed. The only thing left to change are the results on the field, and on that front, Ponting, Iyer and co. will be optimistic about what this talented team with its solid core can pull off. Can’t be much worse, and that’s often the best place to start.