Punjab Kings' Impressive Scouting Unearths Top Indian Talents, says Ricky Ponting

New Delhi [India]: Punjab Kings concluded a fruitful IPL 2025 auction in Jeddah on November 24 and 25, achieving a perfect blend of Indian and international talent in their squad.

The franchise adopted a fresh approach under the new head coach, Ricky Ponting, building a new-look squad blending the best talent available in the auction.

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transform: rotate(32deg); animation: shinerMooving 3s infinite; z-index: 1; filter: blur(1px); } @keyframes shinerMooving { 0% { left: -40px; } 100% { left: 150%; } } Top 15 buys at IPL 2025 Auction Rishabh Pant ₹ 27 Cr DC LSG Total Match 111 Total Runs 3284 Highest Score 128 runs Shreyas Iyer ₹ 26.75 Cr KKR PBKS Total Match 115 Total Runs 3127 Highest Score 96 runs Venkatesh Iyer ₹ 23.75 Cr KKR KKR Total Match 50 Total Runs 1326 Highest Score 104 runs Wickets 3 Best Bowling 2/29 Arshdeep Singh ₹ 18 Cr PBKS PBKS Total Match 65 Total Runs 29 Highest Score 10 runs Wickets 76 Best Bowling 5/32 Yuzvendra Chahal ₹ 18 Cr RR PBKS Total Match 260 Total Runs 37 Highest Score 8 runs Wickets 205 Best Bowling 5/40 Jos Buttler ₹ 15.75 Cr RR GT Total Match 107 Total Runs 3582 Highest Score 124 runs KL Rahul ₹ 14 Cr LSG DC Total Match 132 Total Runs 4683 Highest Score 132 runs Trent Boult ₹ 12.50 Cr RR MI Total Match 104 Total Runs 83 Highest Score 17 runs Wickets 121 Best Bowling 4/18 Jofra Archer ₹ 12.50 Cr MI RR Total Match 35 Total Runs 195 Highest Score 27 runs Wickets 46 Best Bowling 3/15 Josh Hazlewood ₹ 12.50 Cr RCB RCB Total Match 12 Total Runs - Highest Score - Wickets 12 Best Bowling 3/24 Mohammed Siraj ₹ 12.25 Cr RCB GT Total Match 93 Total Runs 109 Highest Score 14 runs Wickets 93 Best Bowling 4/21 Mitchell Starc ₹ 11.75 Cr KKR DC Total Match 41 Total Runs 105 Highest Score 29 runs Wickets 51 Best Bowling 4/15 Phil Salt ₹ 11.50 Cr DC RCB Total Match 21 Total Runs 653 Highest Score 89 runs Ishan Kishan ₹ 11.25 Cr MI SRH Total Match 105 Total Runs 2644 Highest Score 99 runs Wickets - Best Bowling - Jitesh Sharma ₹ 11 Cr PBKS RCB Total Match 40 Total Runs 730 Highest Score 49 runs Check Full Coverage

With Indian players Arshdeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Harpreet Brar, the team assembled experienced campaigners with vast experience in the Indian Premier League. Quality international players Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, and Lockie Ferguson add to the Indian core.

Talented young domestic players, Suryansh Shedge, Pyla Avinash, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Pannu, Pravin Dubey, and Priyansh Arya, were recruited, keeping the long term in mind. The extensive scouting effort from the team was vital in identifying the future Kings.

Head Coach Ricky Ponting credited the hard work of the management that went into the auctions behind the scenes.

"We have brought some of the best young Indian talent into our group, which is very exciting. So, our scouts have done a great job and worked really hard and well to make sure that the auctions go exactly how we wanted them to," Ponting was quoted in a release from Punjab Kings as saying.

Ponting also explained why the franchise targeted Australian international stars at the auctions. "We have and I'll probably get some criticism. I think we have got five Aussies out of our complement of eight overseas. But when you look at the slots that we needed, the players that we have got fitted into those roles perfectly," he said.

"To have Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell back to Kings is huge as they have both played here in the past. A couple of new guys, including Xavier Bartlett, Aaron Hardie, and Josh Inglis, are coming into the IPL for the first time, which is also really exciting for us," he stated.

The former Australian captain is also thrilled to have some quality all-rounders, as he believes they will add balance and stability to the team.

"So we have many world-class all-rounders with Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Hardie. So it's worked out really well. I couldn't be happier. I mean, everyone's going to walk away saying that they are really happy with their auctions, but I think the overall feeling around our table and certainly what a lot of the Punjab fans are saying is that they are really happy with the job that we have done so far," Ponting said in a release.

Reflecting on the auction and how it panned out, Ponting expressed his excitement with the outcome. "Extremely happy . We had a great day one, securing some of our bigger-name players and some of our most expensive players. But we knew day two was probably even more important," he said.

"We had more slots to fill and some important ones as well. We came into this auction thinking that, with the amount of money we would spend, we might get 20 or 21 players. But we have got a full quota, including eight overseas players," Ponting added in the release.

Mincing no words, Ponting made the intentions for the coming season clear once again. "I am now. Now, that's all the hard work is done really. For the auctions, there's a lot of hard work that's gone into the two days of the auction. We've got the players. Now, it's over to me and the other coaching staff to make sure that when we get there in March sometime, that we are ready to go on and win the IPL."

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