IPL 2014 runners-up Punjab Kings (PBKS) are desperate to end their underperformed tag, which they have been carrying on since the 2015 season. In the last 10 years, PBKS failed to advance to the playoffs. In the last two seasons, PBKS finished in eighth and ninth places, respectively, out of ten participating teams.  

In the retention deadline, PBKS unsurprisingly retained only two uncapped players. Wicketkeeper Prabhsimran Singh and all-rounder Shashank Singh were the retained names before the mega auction

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Punjab Kings: Key additions from the mega auction

While Punjab Kings started the mega auction with INR 110.50 crore, it was clear that they could go longer for any top players. PBKS won Shreyas Iyer’s bid, who was the IPL 2024 winning captain for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), for INR 26.75 crore. It was the first time in IPL auction history to experience a bid of more than INR 25 crore. 

While they used RTM for Arshdeep Singh by spending INR 18 crore, PBKS bought the leading IPL wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal, and Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis for INR 18 crore and 11 crore, respectively. 

The franchise also bought more overseas big names like South African all-rounder Marco Jansen, Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Afghan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson, Australian fast bowler Xavier Bartlett, etc. 

PBKS Full Squad

Batters: Shreyas Iyer, Pyla Avinash, Nehal Wadhera, Priyansh Arya, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan

Wicketkeepers: Prabhsimran Singh (retained), Josh Inglis (Australian), Vishnu Vinod

All-rounders: Shashank Singh (retained), Glenn Maxwell (Australian), Marcus Stoinis (Australian), Aaron Hardie (Australian), Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghan), Marco Jansen (South African), Suryansh Shedge

Spinners: Yuzvendra Chahal, Praveen Dubey, Harpreer Brar

Pacers: Lockie Ferguson (New Zealander), Xavier Bartlett (Australian), (RTM) Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur

Brief SWOT analysis

Once again, PBKS had flaws in the auctions. Although they spent strong amounts to buy top overseas all-rounders and pacers, they can only use four of them in a match. Their Indian options are very limited in every aspect and mostly don’t have proper Indian alternates. 

There is no doubt that the team is very exciting with popular overseas names, but the team value is still not high enough due to very limited experienced Indian options. If the young and unfamiliar names do better, PBKS can dream of ending their long-struggling periods. 

PBKS Best Possible XI for IPL 2025

Prabhsimran Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson/Marco Jansen