IPL Retention Preview | Punjab Kings have all bases covered amid impending Glenn Maxwell exit

‌Until the start of the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League, Punjab Kings was seen more as a troll material than title contenders in one of the toughest franchise leagues in the world. With more last-place finishes than playoff qualifications, even the die-hard fans were hesitant to put their money on the Punjab-based outfit.

The Kings had just one final appearance to boast about, and that too way back in 2014, when Ricky Ponting took over the side ahead of IPL 2025. The former Australian skipper plotted a complete overhaul of the side from the previous year, retaining only the uncapped duo of Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh for a cumulative INR 9.5 crore.

It raised several eyebrows that the Kings did not retain many of their big names, including Jonny Bairstow, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, and Arshdeep Singh. But on the other hand, they had a whopping purse of INR 110.5 crore, the highest for any team, going into the mega auctions.

Ponting was very vocal on getting Shreyas Iyer on board, after having worked with him in the Delhi Capitals setup earlier, and then build a team that can afford to go all out from ball one every game. That resulted in the side playing a fearless brand of cricket, with the captain and coach duo backing the players to the hilt, to produce their best season ever in the league.

Shreyas had an excellent season, both as captain and with the bat, finishing as their highest run-getter this year with a tally of 604 runs at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07. But it was the performance of the Indian batting core that lent admirable balance to the unit, with Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh having breakout seasons at the top of the order. Both openers clocked 450-plus seasons with strike rates in excess of 160, allowing enough breathing space to the middle order, including the likes of Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh.

The biggest strength of the side has been its big-hitting all-rounders who could also double up as genuine pace bowling options. The Kings started their IPL 2025 campaign with four of them, namely Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, and Aaron Hardie. Mitchell Owen was added later on as he replaced the injured Glenn Maxwell to lend more depth to the squad, though he managed a duck in the only game he played.

This was a side that Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir would have dreamt of having any day, with the lineup stacked with big hitters all the way from one to eight. Unsurprisingly, the Kings finished on top of the list for most runs in the season with a cumulative 3142 runs, the only side in the league to cross the 3000-run mark, and that too at a strike rate of 160.47 -- needless to say, the best among the lot. Even in the coming season, they are expected to stick to the modern-day template of T20 cricket, with the makeup of the team allowing them the luxury of doing so.

The impending Maxwell exit

Glenn Maxwell’s signing at the mega auction was seen as a homecoming, of sorts, after his exploits with the side during his initial stint earned him the moniker of Maxwell Singh among the faithful. He had a memorable debut with the side in 2014, where he amassed 552 runs at an average just below 35 and an astonishing strike rate of 187.75 in the side’s journey to the summit clash.

He had another good season with them in 2017, scoring 300-plus runs at an average above 30 and a strike rate of more than 170. And rightly so, the expectations were sky high when he rejoined the Kings, notwithstanding a dry spell with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the previous season.

Unfortunately, another horrific show followed as the Australian all-rounder managed a meagre tally of 48 runs from six innings, averaging in single digits, with an underwhelming strike rate of 97.95. He couldn’t do much with the ball either, picking just four wickets before an injury ruled him out of the latter half of the tournament. As a result, he finds himself on the edge, with the Kings certain of releasing him to the auction pool.

Reinforcements and focus areas 

Spin bowling might prove to be one area of concern with Yuzvendra Chahal being their only frontline spinner in their recent campaign. Though the leg-spinner picked up 16 wickets from 13 innings this season, at 35 years, he is well past his prime. Moreover, IPL 2025 was the wrist spinner’s most expensive season at an economy rate of 9.55, making it imperative for the Kings to find an alternative for the medium term.

Though Harpreet Brar and Pravin Dubey are also part of the Kings squad, the fact that the duo played just eight and one match last season, respectively, makes the signing of a marquee spinner a priority, if not the top priority, for the side in the mini auction. With the side almost wearing a settled look for the overseas slots, the team management will have to zoom in on an Indian spinner. Pursuing an overseas spinner like Adam Zampa or Adil Rashid will cause the entire playing combination to be tweaked to squeeze them into the side, and it is unlikely that they will tinker too much on that front.

They may take different routes to reach their goal, as they can pursue an ad hoc option till the next mega auction, who can work as an understudy to Chahal, and then see where that goes. Or they can release someone like a Stoinis to get the big money and then break their bank for someone like a Ravi Bishnoi. The second option, however, looks unlikely as the Australian all-rounder is too precious to part ways with, given the fact that he can produce lusty hits down the order and also chip in with crucial overs even with the new ball, if the situation needs him to.

But all in all, the Kings looks a well-settled side not needing to break much sweat ahead of the mini-auction, courtesy of their fantastic work at the mega auction last year, leading to their most successful season ever in the IPL.

PBKS Probable XII: Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis (wk)*, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis/Mitchell Owen*, Marco Jansen*, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson/Xavier Bartlett*, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak.