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PBKS pressed the reset button once again as they went into the IPL 2025 auction with a whopping INR 110.5 crore purse. They just retained two players in Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh and released the rest.
They made some big additions to their squad like Shreyas Iyer for a whopping INR 26.75 crore and Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal for INR 18 crore each. With Ricky Ponting at the helm, Punjab's core is once again full of Australians with the likes of Josh Inglis, Marcus Stoinis, and Glenn Maxwell being the big additions.
Picking Shreyas Iyer for a whopping INR 26.75 crore has given an indication that he could be the captain of the side in the IPL 2025 season. Iyer already won the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2024 edition of the league comfortably.
Having a squad of 25 players, it is natural for many to believe that there would be some players who would just warm the bench for the whole season. On that note, here are three such players from PBKS who could be benched for the whole season:
1. Sai Kishore
Tamil Nadu left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore has played just 10 games in the IPL so far, picking up 13 wickets. He maintained an economy rate of 8.32. He played five matches each in the 2022 and 2024 editions of the league.
While he might feel that PBKS would give him a fresh start, he will once again have to compete for spots, this time with the likes of Harpreet Brar and Yuzvendra Chahal. There is a good possibility that both Brar and Chahal start ahead of Sai Kishore and the latter is benched for the whole season.
2. Lockie Ferguson
Lockie Ferguson played seven matches in the IPL 2024 season and played a crucial role in RCB making it to the playoffs, picking up nine wickets on the way. He was picked up by PBKS on the base price.
There are already the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen who are likely to start for PBKS and there is a good chance that Ferguson would only get a look in if either of the pacers get injured. In addition, the rule of fielding just four overseas players further hampers Ferguson's chances of playing in the IPL 2025 season.
3. Vishnu Vinod
Vishnu Vinod last played in the IPL in the 2023 edition for the Mumbai Indians, scoring 27 runs in three matches with a highest score of 30. He has been picked by PBKS on base price, but there is a good reason why he may not play a single game in IPL 2025.
PBKS already have Prabhsimran Singh retained and his potential opening partner in Josh Inglis can also keep wickets if needed. This means that Vishnu is third in the pecking order of wicketkeepers and is likely to go through the whole season without any game time.
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