James Hopes confirmed that pacer Lockie Ferguson will miss the rest of the season due to injury.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) will face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match No. 31 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Tuesday.
Punjab are coming into this match after a tough defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Despite putting up a huge total of 245 runs, their bowlers couldn’t stop the SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, who chased down the target with ease and handed Punjab an eight-wicket loss in Hyderabad.
PBKS have also been hit with a blow in their bowling department. Their bowling coach James Hopes confirmed that pacer Lockie Ferguson will miss the rest of the season due to injury. Who steps in to fill that gap in the playing eleven will be one of the big questions for Punjab ahead of this clash.
One option for Punjab Kings could be to bring in Azmatullah Omarzai to replace Lockie Ferguson, since Lockie’s absence leaves an overseas spot open. Azmat can bowl and also add depth to the batting in the middle order, which can help the team. At the same time, PBKS can still use Vyshak as their Impact Player, as he did well in the first match. This combination could work well, giving them both a bowling option and extra batting support.
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact Player: Vijaykumar Vyshak
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Another option for Punjab Kings could be bringing Xavier Bartlett straight into the playing eleven in place of Lockie Ferguson, as it would be a like-for-like replacement. This move would not affect their playing combination much, and Bartlett is a quality pacer who impressed in the recent BBL 2024-25 season. For the Impact Player role, PBKS can go with either Yash Thakur, who has been used as the IP in the last two matches, or Vijaykumar Vyshak.
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact Player: Yash Thakur/ Vijaykumar Vyshak
Both teams have six points so far. KKR are placed fifth on the points table with three wins and three losses from six games. Punjab are right behind them in sixth place, having also collected six points but with a lower net run rate and one match less played.
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