 "Captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting have a chat. Image: AP")
Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be without some important players when they face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match on Sunday. PBKS bowling coach James Hopes has revealed before the match that Australian stars Marcus Stoinis and Josh Inglis won’t be available for selection.
Besides Stoinis and Inglis, who are expected to return next week, PBKS might also miss Marco Jansen. Jansen was in Dubai during the break and reportedly came back to India on Saturday. Most Punjab players stayed in India even after the BCCI suspended IPL 2025 due to India-Pakistan tensions.
PBKS coach on missing overseas players
PBKS bowling coach James Hopes provided the update on their missing players before their game against RR. In the pre-match press conference, Hopes said that he is expecting Jansen to play on Sunday but there could be travel fatigue that may stop the South African from playing in tonight’s game.
“We don’t have a full squad right now. We hope Marcus and Josh join us early next week. But I believe in the strength of our team. We have Mitchell Owens here, and Marco Jansen is arriving soon after training in Dubai. Except for those two Australians and Aaron Hardie, the rest of the squad is ready,” Hopes said.
“There were times this tournament when Josh and Marcus were not selected anyway, so we are confident in our squad,” said Hopes.
Punjab Kings have performed well this season with Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting at the helm. Most Punjab players decided to stay back because of Ponting and the other coaching staff. Ponting and his team camped in Delhi during the one-week break before moving to Jaipur, where they will play all their remaining fixtures.
Punjab Kings are very much alive in the IPL 2025 playoff race with seven wins in 11 matches and 15 points. PBKS still need two wins to be certain about qualification, but they can also qualify with 17 points if they beat DC and lose their other two matches. All eyes will be on Iyer and Ponting as they take on RR, who have nothing to lose as they are already eliminated.