Punjab Kings are without the services of two key overseas players
Punjab Kings are currently grappling with major injuries to two of their key overseas players Glenn Maxwell and Lockie Ferguson. While the injuries have ruled them out of action for the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, they are still without replacements with a maximum of six matches remaining if they qualify for the play-offs.
But the schedule of Pakistan Super League (PSL) running parallel to the IPL has made it difficult to bring in replacements, according to head coach Ricky Ponting.
Ferguson suffered a groin injury while bowling during the first clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad this season. It was confirmed by PBKS’ bowling coach after the match that the Kiwi pacer won’t be available for the remainder of the tournament.
Maxwell suffered a finger injury before the Punjab Kings’ clash against bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings at the Chepauk which was confirmed by his Australian team mate Marcus Stoinis.
“He didn’t think it was too bad, but it ended up getting pretty bad. He had scans and, yeah, the results weren’t great. So unfortunately for Maxi, I think it’s likely he’s out for the tournament,” Stoinis said before the clash.
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Maxwell has had a below-par IPL 2025 having scored just 48 runs from six innings.
“We will be signing some replacements at some stage. We’ve got until our 12th game, so we have a couple of games to go yet. With the squad we’ve got, we’re trying to find players in our squad anyway, we’ve got most basis covered,” Ponting said after the match.
“So we’ve got Azmatullah (Omarzai), Aaron Hardie, who hasn’t played yet, Xavier Bartlett who didn’t play today, it’s conditions based. But when we get to Dharamsala he will come back into the reckoning up there, where the ball might swing and bounce a little bit more,” the 50-year-old elaborated.
The likes of David Warner, Alzarri Joseph, Daryl Mitchell and others who could’ve been possible replacements for Ferguson and Maxwell, are currently playing in the PSL.
Mumbai Indians’ South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch had pulled out of PSL for IPL and was served with a one-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“So we’ve actually been a little bit patient. Maxi’s only been a couple of days, Lockie’s has been two or three weeks. And with the PSL happening at the same time, there’s not a lot of high-quality replacements out there, to be honest. So we’ve just been patient. We’re having a look around at Indian talent as well and we’re looking at what roles we might be able to fill with some younger Indian players,” Ponting said.
Punjab Kings have three matches at Dharamsala and will face Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur for their final league-stage clash.
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