Delighted at the composition of the new-look Punjab Kings squad after the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, head coach Ricky Ponting showered praises on the franchise’s analysts and scouts for their efforts, saying ‘it couldn’t have gone much better’ on the auction table. The franchise adopted a fresh approach under Ponting, to form a new core that could serve them for the next few seasons.

The Kings went into the auction having retained just two players and a maximum purse of Rs 110.5 crore, aiming to build from scratch with new head coach Ponting in charge. They snapped Arshdeep Singh after deciding to exercise their Right-to-Match (RTM) card against the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s final bid of Rs 18 crore.

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Kings broke the bank for the former IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer and bagged him for a whopping Rs 26.75 crore, the second most expensive purchase of the auction after Rishabh Pant, who was sold for a jaw-dropping price of Rs 27 crore to Lucknow Super Giants.

PBKS’ third biggest buy was Yuzvednra Chahal, the only player to take 200 wickets in the IPL history, for Rs 18 crore. Then, they bagged the Australian all-rounder duo of Marcus Stoinis (Rs 11 crore) and Glenn Maxwell (Rs 4.20 crore).

With the trio of Arshdeep, Shreyas, and Chahal along with Harpreet Brar, the team assembled experienced campaigners with vast experience in the IPL. Quality international players Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, and Lockie Ferguson add to the Indian core.

Talented young domestic players, Suryansh Shedge, Pyla Avinash, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Pannu, Pravin Dubey, and Priyansh Arya, were recruited, keeping the long term in mind. The extensive scouting effort from the team was vital in identifying the future Kings.

Reflecting on the business over the auction table in Jeddah, Ponting said credited the hard work of the management that went into the auctions behind the scenes.

“We have brought some of the best young Indian talent into our group, which is very exciting. So, our scouts have done a great job and worked really hard and well to make sure that the auctions go exactly how we wanted them to,” Ponting said.

“The auction has gone great. It probably couldn’t have gone much better, to be honest. It’s been a lot of work and a lot of team effort. The analysts have done a terrific job, providing me with much information on the local players. Obviously, I know a lot about the overseas guys,” he added.

Ponting also explained why the franchise targeted Australian international stars at the auctions.“We have (a few Australians) and I’ll probably get some criticism. I think we have got five Aussies out of our complement of eight overseas. But when you look at the slots that we needed, the players that we have got fitted into those roles perfectly,” he said.

“To have Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell back to Kings is huge as they have both played here in the past. A couple of new guys, including Xavier Bartlett, Aaron Hardie, and Josh Inglis, are coming into the IPL for the first time, which is also really exciting for us,” he stated.

The former Australia captain is also thrilled to have some quality all-rounders, as he believes they will add balance and stability to the team. “So we have many world-class all-rounders with Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Hardie. So it’s worked out really well. I couldn’t be happier. I mean, everyone’s going to walk away saying that they are really happy with their auctions, but I think the overall feeling around our table and certainly what a lot of the Punjab fans are saying is that they are really happy with the job that we have done so far,” Ponting remarked.

Mincing no words, Ponting made the intentions for the coming season clear once again.

“I am (ready for the season) now. Now, that’s all the hard work is done really. For the auctions, there’s a lot of hard work that’s gone into the two days of the auction. We’ve got the players. Now, it’s over to me and the other coaching staff to make sure that when we get there in March sometime, that we are ready to go on and win the IPL,” the two-time World Cup winner said.

While reflecting on successful auctions, Ness Wadia, co-owner of the team, praised the team’s scouts and analysts and acknowledged the contribution made by Ponting. He said, “It’s a pleasure to sit next to Ricky and learn so much, even with the analysts, Saurabh and Ashish. It was a great team effort. They put in at least 200-300 hours in the last month and a half. So, all the hard work pays off, and now we get to the important part: playing.”

Co-owner Preity Zinta, delighted with the team’s performance over the two days, said, “Auctions are always very dynamic, but if you get over ninety percent of the players you wanted, then it’s a fantastic auction. We did get over ninety percent of the players we wanted. It was bittersweet because we had to let go of certain players. That was our calculation: if we go with a clean slate with the least retention and the highest purse, we get the flexibility to do somethingmcompletely different.