Punjab Kings punched above their weight in IPL 2025 after years of straggling through the tournament. The franchise was a protagonist of the final that Royal Challengers Bangalore won, their second finish as runners-up in 18 editions apart from an exit in the eliminators. It was a campaign built on dominance at the death, led by Shreyas Iyer’s red-hot form as the 200-mark was breached on eight occasions. They romped along at a dozen an over during 16-20, the best scoring rate in the league in that phase.
Unless and until a slogger throws caution to the wind, no-holds-barred assaults materialize towards the back end only if there is an adequate base ready in the first place. Priyansh Arya was the supplier of those springboards, crafting 475 runs at a strike rate of 179.24, including a century against Chennai Super Kings. Submerging teams under a mountain is something other teams have also done, but defending is a different kettle of fish – Lucknow Super Giants lost after posting 205 and 227 last year. Punjab Kings were equally authoritative with the ball thanks to their spinners picking up 32 wickets, the joint second-highest in the league even as they bowled just 510 deliveries across 16 matches, the second-lowest among all teams.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Harpreet Brar got a helping hand from part-timer Glenn Maxwell. The leggie who sits atop the IPL wicket-takers chart with 221 scalps has given up alcohol to prioritise his fitness after a debilitating tryst with injuries of late. He will be accompanied by Cooper Connolly (nursing a stress fracture) in the spin compartment as Punjab Kings look to maximize their strength, throwing in an element of surprise too with a 20-year-old mystery weaver from Uttar Pradesh. “Vishal Nishad impressed me a lot when I held the trials for the Gorakhpur Lions ahead of the UPT20 League in 2024, and from that day onwards, I thought this boy can make it to an IPL side,” Lalchand Rajpoot said.
Considering how badly niggles or emergencies can derail the team strategy, and in turn, the performance on field, Punjab Kings have aced their contingency planning. Karnataka youngster Praveen Dubey has been added as cover for Chahal whereas BBL star Mitchell Owen’s range-hitting is at par with Maxwell. Left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis brings his T20 experience to potentially substitute Lockie Ferguson, who will not be available at the start as family time takes precedence. Xavier Bartlett can serve the same purpose, having shone brightly at Brisbane Heat to return 15 wickets.
Such international pedigree was non-existent in their middle order en route the journey to the final. Josh Inglis was in the process of establishing himself as an Australia regular, Maxwell featured in seven games only, and Marcus Stoinis batted quite low. Their engine was fired by Indians who kept their foot on the accelerator even if it meant suffering the ignominy of folding for 111 and 101. This bullish approach indeed came off when they found themselves down at 34/3 against Rajasthan Royals. Acquired for ₹4.2 crores after an impressive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Nehal Wadhera embarked on a rescue mission so brilliant that the eventual total read 219.
Another domestic kingpin is Shashank Singh. One of only two players retained by Punjab Kings ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, a testament to his growing stature, the ice-cool operator has tallied 350 runs in consecutive seasons. Prabhsimran Singh’s switch-hit off Sunil Narine left our collective jaws on the floor in an edition where he came of age as a T20 batter after being inducted into the fold as a teen under Mike Hesson in 2019.
Ab dangal hoga! 🔥
Bring on #IPL2026! 💪 pic.twitter.com/jnfy6Hewaa
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) March 26, 2026
“Maybe a little bit of experience in that middle order today might have helped us out, but what I know is that we’re going to have these younger guys around this team for a long time and I think they’re going to win us a lot of games going forward,’’ ex-coach Ricky Ponting had opined. As things stand, the gaps have been cemented with a deep batting line-up and ample back-up options like dynamic keeper-bat Vishnu Vinod and Pyla Avinash, both hailing from the southern parts of India. In a similar vein, the multifarious attack boasts of profundity.
Able company to retained left-armer Arshdeep Singh (₹18 crores), Marco Jansen has developed a slower variation to go along with his ability to produce lateral movement and a mean bouncer. 77/5 at the halfway stage, the all-rounder hit the ball clean as a whistle to drag the South African total to 169 against New Zealand in T20 World Cup 2026. Ranked the premier ODI all-rounder in March 2025 following a stellar Champions Trophy, Afghanistan’s binding glue Azmattulah Omarzai can strike early in the PowerPlay and clear the ropes in the slog overs.
Musheer Khan is raring to go after recovering from a road accident, having aided Mumbai’s push to the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts. His teammate Suryansh Shedge, a key contributor to their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumph in 2024-25, would like to make his opportunities at Punjab Kings count after three misfires last year.
Vyshak Vijaykumar and Yash Thakur will serve as the supporting cast to the lethal pace battery, with the latter hopeful of making an appearance at some stage following a harvest of 18 wickets in seven matches at an economy rate of 6.8 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Stoinis is also expected to be a tidy customer, having kept the likes of David Warner, Ben McDermott and Sean Abbott on a tight leash at Melbourne Stars in BBL 15. His off-cutters were gaining oomph from a good length to draw leading edges, so beware of his expanding arsenal IPL biffers.
At the age of 36, Stoinis wrapped up his second campaign at Stars’ helm, a responsibility he acknowledges has helped him evolve as an individual after more than 350 T20 matches across his career. He’ll be an excellent sounding board to Iyer as Punjab Kings prime themselves up to go one better.
