 "Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting at a training session at Kolkata's Eden Gardens ahead of his team's away meeting with Kolkata Knight Riders. AP")
Australian batting legend Ricky Ponting has been accused of favouring foreign players over Indians at Punjab Kings in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League . Ponting, who is in his first season as PBKS coach after similar roles with Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, faced the accusations following Saturday’s washed-out match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata.
The team’s decision to send Glenn Maxwell and Marco Jansen at No 4 and 5 respectively after a fantastic 120-run opening partnership between openers Prabhsimran Singh (83) and Priyansh Arya (69) is what appears to have left the likes of former India and KKR cricketer Manoj Tiwary scratching their heads.
Wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis was sent after the two were dismissed in the death overs, resulting in a proven finisher in Shashank Singh remaining confined to the bench along with Nehal Wadhera, also an explosive middle-order option.
PBKS won’t win IPL 2025, feels former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary
“My gut feeling says that punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn’t send Indian inform batters Nehal wadera and Shasank singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver, but they cudnt and clearly showed lack of confidence in Indian players down the order. If he persist in this way then the title is far from them irrespective of there qualification in top two. #KKRvsPBKS,” Tiwary wrote on X on Saturday.
My gut feeling says that punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn’t send Indian inform batters Nehal wadera and Shasank singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver, but they cudnt and clearly showed lack of confidence in Indian players down the order. If he persist in this way then the title is far from them irrespective of there qualification in top two. #KKRvsPBKS,
PBKS had 160 on the board inside 15 overs by the time the two openers departed, but could collect just 41 runs in the last 33 deliveries. While captain Shreyas Iyer struck an unbeaten 25 off 16 at the iconic venue that had been his home ground from 2022 to 2024, Maxwell and Jansen were dismissed on 7 and 3 respectively.
Inglis, meanwhile, remained unbeaten on 11 off 6 balls after walking out to bat with nine deliveries left.
KKR openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine had collected seven runs in the first over of the chase when rain brought the game to a halt, and eventually forced the two teams to split points following a washout.