Follow UsThe Punjab Kings (PBKS) are on the verge of history as they have finished at the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table for the second time in 18 years, with their last first position coming 11 years ago in 2014.
They now have one hurdle, if they cross it for the first time or two, if they fail to do it the first time, in getting themselves to their second IPL final appearance as well.
But before the Shreyas Iyer-led side reach the final, they would have to go through an even more desperate Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who have made it to the final thrice before, but ended up on a losing side on all three occasions.
These two teams, who do not have a trophy in their cabinet, will go head-to-head in IPL 2025 Qualifier 1 at PBKS’ home ground–Maharaja Yadvinder Singh International Stadium in Mullanpur near Chandigarh.
But before the clash, PBKS would have to sort out their playing 11 as they would not have the services of Marco Jasen any more, who departed for England to be with his team South Africa and prepare for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 Final against Australia, starting June 11 onwards at the iconic Lord’s in England.
Punjab have the option of either choosing Azmatullah Omarzai as a batting all-round option who can give four-overs pace bowling or go for an all-out bowler in Xavier Bartlett. Both of them have previously played for PBKS this season.
On the other hand, the option of Aaaron Hardie or Mitchell Owen looks far-fetched because they have not played any game and an experienced campaigner like Ponting wouldn’t throw a fresh fish straight into the qualifier.
Other than this predicament, Yuzvendra Chahal’s return to the side after a two-match layoff looks certain, and he would most likely replace Vijaykumar Vyshak in the playing 11 with PBKS going with two spinners against RCB.
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Harpreet Brar, Kyle Jamieson, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett/ Azmatullah Omarzai
Impact Player- Yuzvendra Chahal