Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is all set to begin on Saturday, March 22 with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens. The auctions for the 18th edition of IPL took place in November 2024, where all the teams strategised round the clock to strengthen their respective squads. Being a mega auction, many big names went under the hammer and all the franchises spent a whopping sum to form a new team. Punjab Kings went for a complete revamp in the auctions as they aim to find a place in the playoffs after a hiatus of 10 years.
PBKS will begin their IPL 2025 campaign against Gujarat Titans on March 25 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Ahead of the 2025 season of IPL, let’s do a SWOT analysis of Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings:
Basic premise:
The Punjab-based franchise had an impressive outing during the auctions as they stepped into the room with the largest purse (Rs 110 crore). Before the auctions, they retained Shashank Singh (Rs 5.5 crore) and Prabhsimran Singh (Rs 4 crore) as the uncapped stars.
They spent a whopping price of Rs 26.75 crore to buy batter Shreyas Iyer, who was later appointed as the new captain of PBKS. Apart from this, PBKS spent Rs 18 crore to bring back their star pacer Arshdeep Singh through Right-To-Match card and the same amount was spent to buy spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.
Strength:
PBKS’ lineup is filled with some fiery batters like Shashank, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, and others. It is safe to say that their batting lineup has depth as they have great openers in the form of Prabhsimran Singh and Australia star Josh Inglis, who is coming after a brilliant campaign in the Champions Trophy.
With Ricky Ponting coming in as the new head coach, things are expected to go on track for PBKS this season.
Weakness:
The biggest weakness for PBKS will be the absence of a reliable opener. On paper, the batting lineup looks very strong but the question still remains to be understood who will be opening alongside Prabhsimran. Looking at the squad, Inglis will be the perfect choice but the management can push Stoinis as the opener. Priyansh Arya and Suryansh Shedge can also be considered for the role.
Despite having the likes of Arshdeep and Jansen, PBKS’s pace department looks very weak. The pace duo is expected to scalp many wickets but at the same time, they are also infamous for leaking too many runs. Over the years, Arshdeep has established himself as a good death-over specialist but since the last two seasons, he is slowly losing the touch.
Opportunity:
After a long time, PBKS’ squad boasts of a specialist spinner as they have included Yuzvendra Chahal. His inclusion can be the game changer for PBKS as over the years, Chahal has proved his worth with the ball. This year too, Chahal will aim to be the highest wicket-taker of the season and hope to come back in the scheme of things for Team India.
This IPL can be a great opportunity for the uncapped stars Musheer Khan, Priyansh Arya, and Suryansh Shedge as they aim to make a big name for themselves in the cash-rich league.
Threat:
Shreyas Iyer will be PBKS’ 17th captain in 18 editions. Over the years, PBKS have faced numerous setbacks due to a lack of proper leadership. After leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024, the appointment of Shreyas will be crucial for PBKS’ success.
Punjab Kings’ Strongest XI: Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Impact Players: Vijaykumar Vyshk, Yash Thakur.
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