Former Cricketer Doubts Punjab Kings’ IPL Win After Coaching Decisions

Punjab Kings might not be taking home the IPL trophy this year, according to former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary. He’s criticizing head coach Ricky Ponting for favoring foreign players over in-form Indian batters during their recent match against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Kings are currently sitting pretty in fourth place in the IPL standings, but Tiwary believes their batting choices could cost them the title. He points to Ponting’s decision to send in Glenn Maxwell instead of Nehal Wadhera, who has been doing really well batting at number four. He also questioned the decision to put foreign players Marco Jansen and Josh Inglis ahead of Shashank Singh in the later overs when Punjab was aiming for a big score.

Tiwary shared his thoughts on social media, saying, ‘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 Wadhera and Shashank Singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver, but they couldn’t and clearly showed lack of confidence in Indian players down the order.’ He added that if Ponting keeps making these choices, it doesn’t matter how well they do in the tournament, winning the IPL is a long shot.

The 2025 IPL season has been full of surprises, with teams like Punjab Kings exceeding expectations. They’ll be looking to keep their strong performance going as they face the Chennai Super Kings on April 30th and then the Lucknow Super Giants at home on May 4th. Will Ponting adjust his batting strategy? Only time will tell.