Before the retentions of the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise was boosted with the inclusion of the former Australian World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting as the new head coach of the franchise. The veteran parted ways with the Delhi Capitals (DC) and will hope to turn the fortune of the Kings, who have yet to win a title in the league’s history.
PBKS decided to keep just two players for the retentions, both of whom are uncapped Indian players. Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh were retained for a price of INR 5.5 crore and INR 4 crore respectively. The former drilled 354 runs in the previous season in just 14 innings at an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of more than 164 with the help of two half-centuries.
The wicket-keeper batter, on the flip of the coin, has collected 334 runs in 14 innings at an average of 23.85 and a strike rate of over 156 with the help of two half-centuries at a best score of 71 runs.
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In the recent interview with Sanjana Ganesan for the ICC review, the PBKS coach expressed his surprise at the retentions of a few of the franchises. He was stunned by some of the franchises leaving the huge names of Indian cricket.
PBKS aims to grab one of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant for IPL 2025
The likes of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) decided to part ways with their previous captain, Shreyas Iyer, while Delhi Capitals (DC) ended the association of nine years with Rishabh Pant. The break in the mutual relationship between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and KL Rahul didn’t work well as the wicket-keeper batter decided to move into the mega auction of the tournament.
The PBKS franchise also decided to leave out their captain from the last season, the former left-handed opening batter Shikhar Dhawan, who didn’t take part in the lion’s share of the 2024 due to his shoulder injury.
“There are a lot of exciting players. So many. I’m a bit surprised with some of the non-Indian retentions if you like, with both Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant being available in the auctions. It was a bit surprising, even KL Rahul, to a certain degree. It seems like individuals or franchises are busy looking to move in different directions to some of their players.” Ponting expressed in the ICC review.
The former DC coach carries an excellent and strong bond with Pant, who was the captain of the Capitals since 2020 has the coaching skills of Ponting, who also has made a valuable relationship with Iyer, the former leader of the Delhi side when they reached the final of the IPL 2020 and ended up as the runners-up.
“I‘m most excited about a new, fresh start. It starts to come together today, with the retention list. It’s well documented as to what I’ve done with Punjab (Kings). We’re only going in with two uncapped players and we’re going into the auction with the biggest purse by a long way. So, we can put a whole squad of players together.” The PBKS head coach stated.
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Despite being one of the most entertaining teams in the league, the results haven’t come in their favor. But Ponting has an ambitious goal to turn the tables in 2025.
“I’m most excited about a new, fresh start. It starts to come together today with the retention list. It’s well documented as to what I’ve done with Punjab (Kings).” Ponting concluded.
PBKS is entering the upcoming mega auction of the tournament with a huge purse of INR 110.5 crores.