Still searching their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL), Punjab Kings, the perennial underachievers of the tournament, will kickstart the 18th season under a new leadership combo of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting in an away encounter against 2022 champions Gujarat Giants at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

Iyer, fresh from guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in the 2024 season, besides guiding the Delhi Capitals to the 2020 season finale, will be expected to turn the fortunes of the PBKS, which ended the previous season at the penultimate 9th spot. In fact, Punjab have failed to break into the top five in the last four seasons.

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The Punjab Kings’ best performance dates back to a decade, when they finished runners-up in 2014, before ending the 2018 season as the semifinalists. Cut to the 2025 season, the franchise is expecting the reunion of Iyer and Ponting to break the jinx.

On the other hand, the Titans, after emerging winners in their debut season, became the runners-up in the 2023 season. However, under new skipper Shubman Gill, the team ended a dismal 8th in the 2024 season, and thus would be keen on a fresh start.

Both Iyer and Gill have been in excellent form with the bat, and were among the architects of India’s success at the ICC Champions Trophy. While Iyer ended up as the highest run-getter with 243 runs, Gill showcased his prowess with a century against Bangladesh.

Having retained only two uncapped Indian — Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh ahead of the season, the PBKS went with the maximum purse at the mega auction in November last year, and splurged a whopping Rs 26.75 crore to acquire Iyer, besides buying back Arshdeep Singh via the Right-to-Match (RTM) option, while securing the services of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.

While the onus will be on Iyer to lead the side from the front, Punjab will bank on the likes of Josh Inglis and Prabhsimran at the top of the order, and expect Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis to lend muscle to the middle order. Arshdeep will spearhead the bowling attack in the company of Lockie Ferguson and Yuzvendra Chahal lending their experience.

The home side also assembled a formidable lineup, with Gill and Jos Buttler expected to open the batting that will be complemented by a strong middle order comprising Sherfane Rutherford, Sai Sudharsan, and M Shahrukh Khan. The all-round strength of Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, and Mahipal Lomror adds depth to their squad.

The Titans also boasts of a formidable bowling unit comprising the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Gerald Coetzee and Ishant Sharma in the pace department, besides having Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore as their frontline spinners.

As both teams look to set the tone in the season opener, the match promises an exciting clash as the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium also offers unpredictable stats, adding to the flavour.

Squads:

Gujarat Giants: Shubman Gill (c), Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Sherfane Rutherford, Sai Sudharsan, M Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Phillips, Nishant Sindhu, Manav Suthar, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Gerald Coetzee, Gurnoor Brar, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav.

Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Josh Inglis, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Musheer Khan, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Harpreet Brar, Kuldeep Sen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur.