Rating Punjab Kings IPL Auction 2025 squad: Ricky Ponting’s PBKS tenure with Shreyas Iyer starts with 9/10

Another mega auction and another mega overhaul at the Punjab Kings (PBKS). But unlike previous years, this PBKS team looks excellent, at least on paper. They entered the IPL Auction 2025 with a ‘bully’ purse of Rs 110.50 crore, and it would be fair to say that they have made the most out of it. Roping in Ricky Ponting prior to the auction was their key move as well. The Australian legend has massively helped PBKS to build an effective blend in their team, with Shreyas Iyer leading the charge. He made headlines with a Rs 26.75 price point, but PBKS always had that much money to spend.

Punjab Kings spent Rs 18 crore each on Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra, arguably two of India’s best T20 bowling talents. Glenn Maxwell was also a steal at Rs 4.20 crore. Other foreign players are quite effective too. But is the Indian local talent great with PBKS? Or are there any major loopholes? Well, let us discuss all that and much more below.

PBKS at IPL 2025 Auction: All Picks

S. No	Player	Price	Nationality
1	Arshdeep Singh	18 Cr (RTM)	India
2	Shreyas Iyer	26.75 Cr	India
3	Marcus Stoinis	11 Cr	Australia
4	Yuzvendra Chahal	18 Cr	India
5	Glenn Maxwell	4.20 Cr	Australia
6	Nehal Wadhera	4.20 Cr	India
7	Harpreet Brar	1.5 Cr	India
8	Vijaykumar Vyshak	1.8 Cr	India
9	Yash Thakur	1.6 Cr	India
10	Vishnu Vinod	95 Lakh	India
11	Josh Inglis	2.6 Cr	Australia
12	Lockie Ferguson	2 Cr	New Zealand
13	Marco Jansen	7 Cr	South Africa
14	Azmatullah Omarzai	2.40 Cr	Afghanistan
15	Harnoor Pannu	30 L	India
16	Kuldeep Sen	80 L	India
17	Priyansh Arya	3.8 Cr	India
18	Aaron Hardie	1.25 Cr	Australia
19	Musheer Khan	30 L	India
20	Suryansh Shedge	30 L	India
21	Pravin Dube	30 L	India
22	Pyla Avinash	30 L	India
23	Xavier Bartlett	80 L	Australia

Punjab Kings (PBKS) IPL 2025 Retentions

Player	Price (Crores) (INR)	Capped/Uncapped
Shashank Singh	5.50	Uncapped
Prabhsimran Singh	4.00	Uncapped

Punjab Kings (PBKS) Strongest Playing XI

S. No	Player	Overseas	Role
1	Marcus Stoinis	OVERSEAS	All-rounder
2	Prabhsimran Singh	INDIAN	Wicket-keeper
3	Shreyas Iyer	INDIAN	Batter
4	Nehal Wadhera	INDIAN	Batter
5	Glenn Maxwell	OVERSEAS	All-rounder
6	Shashank Singh	INDIAN	Batter
7	Marco Jansen	OVERSEAS	All-rounder
8	Harpreet Brar	INDIAN	All-rounder
9	Lockie Ferguson	OVERSEAS	Bowler
10	Arshdeep Singh	INDIAN	Bowler
11	Yuzvendra Chahal	INDIAN	Bowler

More on IPL 2025

First of all, kudos to Ricky Ponting and his entire support staff that they didn’t spill up their hefty auction purse on useless buys, something that many PBKS fans were worried about given their team’s track record. They have heavily invested on the guys who they really wanted: Shreyas Iyer (Rs 26.75 cr), Arshdeep Singh (Rs 18cr), Yuzvendra Chahal (Rs 18cr) and Marcus Stoinis (Rs 11 cr). Both Stoinis and Maxwell add that muscle in their batting group. Last year, they played with an attacking mindset and have once again enough players to do the same.

With Iyer, they have got a leader. But one of their best purchases was Nehal Wadhera, who has already proved his potential at MI. Wadhera is a local talent too. While it was a bit of a questionable decision for PBKS to release Arshdeep Singh, having him back is a great news. Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Yash Thakur, and Marco Jansen are top-quality buys too.

Punjab Kings (PBKS): Misses at IPL Auction 2025

What wrong have PBKS done, you ask? Openers. While Priyansh Arya has a massive upside, IPL is a different ball game altogether. Prabhsimran Singh, PBKS’ retention has to be consistent now. A lack of openers might force Marcus Stoinis to open the innings for PBKS, a move that might not be wrong too. But another Indian name wouldn’t have hurt them.

Apart from this, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) could have a problem of having a long tail. While the ‘Impact Sub’ rule will definitely help them, having the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Lockie Ferguson, and Yash Thakur could cause an issue. Moreover, unfortunately, there is an overdependence on Glenn Maxwell’s form. PBKS lack experience in the middle order, with Wadhera and Shashank Singh taking charge. And let’s be honest, both Marco Jansen and Harpreet Brar are more known for their bowling.

Having said that, PBKS don’t have massive gaping holes. All in all, they have a great squad, something that has been built from scratch (almost). It will now be up to Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting on how well they take the franchise forward.