After 11 long, gut-wrenching years outside the top four, Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings climbed the summit of the IPL 2025 table, exceeding expectations and eventually falling short of their maiden title by six runs.
After 16 captains and 10 coaches, PBKS recreated a fascinating, formidable partnership of Iyer and Ricky Ponting. The duo enjoyed successive playoff appearances with Delhi Capitals in 2019 and 2020, part of a wondrous 2020 squad that left the fraternity bemused when they failed to clinch the trophy. After all, they came up against a Mumbai Indians side akin to a Galacticos unit.
And the duo delivered big time. Batters win you games, bowlers win you championships. After they splurged INR 18 Cr each on Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh, it was expected that they would do the heavy lifting, turning PBKS into a feared side defending totals courtesy of experienced heads in the bowling lineup.
But what turned out was beyond remarkable - all of their Indian uncapped stars in Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Shashank Singh and Nehal Wadhera recorded 350+ run seasons - shepherded by their skipper and later, the now-departed Josh Inglis.
With one of the best cricketing minds in their dugout and arguably IPL's third most successful skipper, can Punjab finally fulfil their 18-year long dream of pillaging the crown?
Also read: RCB IPL 2026 Preview: Rajat Patidar To Bet on Bench Strength for Second Crown
PBKS Squad - IPL 2026
Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Harnoor Pannu, Pyla Avinash, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Priyansh Arya, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Vishnu Vinod, Prabhsimran Singh.
Team Built On Trust And Fearlessness
"It's so good to be back here. So good to get the band back together again. Mistakes come, that's fine. We all make mistake. I'll make mistakes through this. You'll all make mistakes - you'll drop a catch, you'll play a bad shot, you'll bowl a bad over. As long as you're sticking to what you know, and what your game plan is, if you make a mistake doing that, in my eyes it's not a mistake. It's just what happens in the game," were the words of coach Ponting in his first pre-season speech.
It punctuated what the former Australian captain is all about. He backs his players, places them all on an equal pedestal and meticulously detaches the fabric of fear from their minds. It's what made Punjab Kings the most prolific, free-scoring side in the IPL last season.
With a settled Indian batting core in the top six, PBKS have the flexibility to deploy their overseas ammo as needed.
They can opt for Azmatullah Omarzai's new-ball skills and pinch-hitting, lean on Marcus Stoinis's experience and power, or even use Mitchell Owen as an aggressor at number three, replicating the role Josh Inglis played last season.
Measuring PBKS's gain in the mini auction
They had to let go of Inglis due to availability issues. And Ponting, who loves to team up with compatriots, replaced the wicket-keeper batter with Cooper Connolly, and Aaron Hardie with Ben Dwarshuis.
Lockie Ferguson leaves an abyss in the bowling attack, as paternity leave is set to take precedence over the first half of the tournament. The extra pace, knuckle ball and ability to bowl in all phases would have completed a well-rounded pace attack, but with Dwarshuis yet to make his IPL debut, and Bartlett predominantly a new ball specialist, it remains to be seen how effective PBKS can be in choking their opposition.
Connolly, who won the Big Bash with the Perth Scorchers, earned popularity more for his performances with the ball. In fact, he averages a shade under five so far in his fledgling T20I career.
PBKS Predicted XI
Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh. Impact player: Yuzvendra Chahal.
PBKS Season Predictions
League Position: 4th
Top Run Scorer: Shreyas Iyer
Top Wicket Taker: Arshdeep Singh
