- May 16, 2025
Honestly speaking, Punjab Kings have possibly the most frustrating “almost story” in the IPL. A high ceiling, a low floor—and the most aliases for coaches and captains in franchise history. Yet by IPL 2025, all that has now changed. From tactical blunders to tactically smart, PBKS are now one of the most mellow, consistently cool, and generally fun teams to watch on the pitch. Key questions. What changed? A lot—but if you get the opinions of analysts from Tom Moody to Aakash Chopra, the answers will be in plain sight. So come along and join us on this interesting tale of the Punjab Kings and how they have quietly crept into title contention positions.
The Ponting-Iyer Effect
The dominant word in the post-match conversation? Leadership.
PBKS’s change for 2025, with no vision, was gone. Not simply a name, a culture shift. Ponting declared a straightforward “my way or the highway” philosophy, and he had the currency to endorse it. No longer was there any muddling of plans, no more randomness of selection.
Then came Sourish Iyer, who was captain because he was friends with Ponting and cool on the field! Aakash Chopra rightly mentioned that Sourish is not a usual captain because he is the only player to lead 2 different teams to IPL finals (Delhi and KKR), that pedigree probably adds some stability, and his coolness (naturally loosely but gently) invites DHONI comparisons.
The two owners didn’t just offer structure, they offered faith, and in T20 cricket, where the games can be so unpredictable, that coolness is huge for a team.
Uncapped, Unbothered, and Unbelievable
After expending 65 crores on 3 players, PBKS only had one alternative – scavenge for gold in the domestic mines. And what a treasure trove it turned out to be. No glitzy marquee names in Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, or Shashank Singh—just pure, uncut impact. Quiet assassins playing colossal roles in a blockbuster no one saw coming.
In particular, Prabhsimran has been the breakout performer. As Tom Moody said, we are not merely talking about a powerplay explosion. He has had four back-to-back 50+ scores this season, which is a rarity for an uncapped opener. Aakash was bang on when he said scouting is not simply scratching the surface, to know the talent pool inside and out in the trenches of Indian cricket.
And here is the gravitas: there was little to no contribution from overseas players. Maxwell was out of sorts, Stoinis made next to no impact, and Azmatullah Omarzai could not earn a gig. Meanwhile, the Indian core kept going, game after game.
Bold Choices and Smart Strategy
If you think PBKS relied on calm captains and young guys, think again. This season has also been about clever, brave decisions.
Aakash and Tom have said it before; Punjab didn’t just follow the trends. They bucked the trends. In an IPL season in which chasing was the norm, Punjab would bat first, which they did, many times (even in night games!). They knew that suited them best.
Then there’s their approach to bowling. Where most teams seemed to latch on to a set recipe, the PBKS squad played six different players as opening bowlers through a single season. Ponting’s canny match-ups and analytics made it a format for success, match by match, to change and adapt. Sometimes they played only one spinner in spin-friendly India, and still won.
Is this year’s success a one-off, or is this the beginning of something even greater? There is no doubt that the rest of the league will be thinking hard about PBKS, and they’re getting better at that. So, What do you think? Let’s discuss below!
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