Punjab Kings (PBKS) always struggled with the experienced Indian core and that's what the new head coach and the owners' focus was at the IPL 2025 mega auction, having splurged INR 62.75 crore for just three players, including Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal. While the Kings got that sorted, Ponting like he did for the Delhi Capitals, filled the squad with a few Australian players, as many as five out of the eight available overseas slots, which naturally brought some criticism towards him.
Ponting was glad with the squad that was assembled by him and the Punjab Kings support staff across two days and admitted that he might come under scrutiny for having multiple Australian players in the squad, however, he explained the rationale behind them as well.
"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," PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting told IANS.
"We have (a few Australians) 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.
"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," Ponting added.
However, it was the three internationals other than Australians, who will probably make the squad what Punjab Kings want it to be as the 2014 finalists got a couple of all-rounders in Marco Jansen and Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai and the Kiwi pacer Lockie Ferguson, who is likely to spearhead the attack alongside Arshdeep Singh.
Ponting has been hired for a four-year period and with the auction done and dusted, it's up to the players, the coaches to get the performance on the field as it has already been 10 years for the Kings without a playoffs finish in the IPL and the former Australian captain will be eager to change that during his tenure.
