Punjab Kings

Introduction

Punjab Kings, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, are one of ten teams which take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and have been around since the inaugural season of the tournament. They are one of three teams to have been involved in the IPL since 2008 but are yet to win a trophy.

PBKS are one of the weakest teams in the history of the IPL and have managed to reach the final just once in 17 seasons. Apart from that, the only time they qualified for the playoffs was in the first season in 2008. In all the other 15 seasons, PBKS have failed to make it past the league stage.

PBKS are co-owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta and Karan Paul. They play all their home matches at the newly constructed Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, though every year, they also play at least two home matches at the scenic Dharamsala stadium. In the past, PBKS have also hosted games in Indore.

PBKS have always managed to gather a solid squad and have had a number of prominent names in their setup, but have always punched below their weight and fallen short. In 17 seasons, they have finished last on the points table three times and have mostly been at the bottom half of the table.

Their indecisiveness stems from the fact that in 17 seasons, PBKS have had 16 captains - the most for any team - and will have a 17th one in IPL 2025 with Shreyas Iyer set to lead the side. They've been guilty of playing Russian roulette with their captains, and that has affected their chances.

Punjab Kings History

When PBKS was formed in 2008, they were called Kings XI Punjab. The team representing the Punjab franchise was bought by the Dabur group's Mohit Burman (46%), the Wadia group's Ness Wadia (23%), Preity Zinta (23%), and Saptarshi Dey of the Dey & Dey Group (minor stake). The group paid a total of $76 million to acquire the franchise.

With a tinge of Bollywood in it, courtesy of Zinta's presence, the franchise piqued the interest of the fans. Her name and strong local base made the Punjab franchise popular in the early years. At the time of IPL's inception, Punjab named Yuvraj Singh their ‘Icon Player', who would be paid 15% more than the highest-paid player on the team. He was also named captain for the inaugural season of the IPL.

Punjab started poorly in their first season but came back strongly and finished second on the points table. But, since then it’s been disappointment one after the other the following years. Only in 2014, did they manage to go big.

Punjab Kings Team Owners

Punjab Kings, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab is jointly owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta. They play their home matches in Mohali, but more recently have made Mullanpur their home base. Punjab have also played a number of home matches in Indore and more recently in Dharamsala.

When the BCCI announced a new IPL tournament back in 2007, the team representing Punjab was bought by the Dabur group's Mohit Burman (46%), the Wadia group's Ness Wadia (23%), Preity Zinta (23%), and Saptarshi Dey of the Dey & Dey Group (minor stake). They paid a total of $76 million to acquire the franchise. 

The team has faced plenty of league battles over the years. In 2010, the BCCI announced that it was terminating Punjab from the IPL. The team in turn filed a case in the Bombay High Court and the legal dispute finally ended 2012. Punjab has since been an active participant in the IPL. They changed their name to Punjab Kings in IPL 2021 in a bid to start afresh.

Punjab Kings Ex-Captains, Current Coaches, Home Ground

Punjab Kings are one of the three franchises to have never won an IPL title and one of the biggest reasons could be the constant change in their personnel. There have been 17 players in 17 years to have led Punjab Kings. Here we take a look at all the Punjab Kings captains.

Yuvraj Singh (2008-2009)

Chosen as the ‘Icon Player', Yuvraj Singh was appointed as the skipper for the inaugural edition of the IPL. India's WC hero led the Punjab Kings side brilliantly in the first season.

Punjab Kings finished second in the league stage of IPL 2008 with 10 wins but eventually lost to Chennai Super Kings in the semifinals. The following year, Yuvraj's Punjab Kings missed out on the top 4 position by a narrow margin. Punjab Kings played 29 matches under Yuvraj, winning 17 and losing 12 games. As a player, Yuvi didn't have much success for the Kings, scoring 955 runs while averaging 22.3 with a low strike rate of 127.9.  

Kumar Sangakkara (2010)

Sri Lankan batting maestro was picked by Punjab Kings in the inaugural edition for USD 700000. Kumar Sangakkara was handed over the reins after Yuvraj Singh was removed from the captaincy ahead of IPL 2010.

However, the change in captaincy didn't bring much luck as Punjab Kings succumbed to their worst season of the first three to finish last. After which, the Kings parted ways with him.

Sangakkara led the Punjab side in 13 matches, registering 4 wins and 9 defeats. He did a fantastic job as a player for PBKS, scoring over 1000 runs averaging 31.5 with a strike rate of 129.5.

Mahela Jayawardene (2010)

Another Sri Lanka legend, Mahela Jayawardene, was one of the earliest picks in the 2008 auction, bought by Punjab Kings for USD 475000. He remained part of the franchise for the first three seasons.

Jayawardene had terrific numbers for PBKS, scoring 837 runs averaging 36.4 at an outstanding strike rate of 140.9. He captained a solitary game for the Kings in the absence of regular skipper Sangakkara in 2010, resulting in a loss.

Adam Gilchrist (2011-2013)

Australian revolutionary wicket-keeper legend Adam Gilchrist was brought into the Punjab side in IPL 2011 for a sum of USD 900000. He was the first player PBKS picked in the auction, mainly for his leadership skills as he had led the Hyderabad team to an IPL title.

Gilchrist couldn't repeat that feat as Punjab Kings missed out on a playoff spot by a narrow margin in 2011 and finished sixth in the following two seasons. He led PBKS in 34 matches, splitting the wins and losses at 17 each.

Gilchrist scored 849 runs for Punjab, averaging 27.8 at a strike rate of 127.3. The legend retired at Punjab Kings at the end of IPL 2013.

David Hussey (2012-2013)

One of the most sought after T20 players in the world at that time, David Hussey was bought by Punjab Kings for a sum of USD 1.4 million. Having a huge experience of captaincy, Hussey was handed over the role after five matches in IPL 2012 in the absence of Adam Gilchrist.

Punjab Kings finished in sixth position in the 2012 edition with eight wins and eight losses. Hussey led the Punjab side in 12 matches, winning six and as many defeats.

George Bailey (2014-2015)

In a complete revamp ahead of the 2014 edition, Punjab Kings had brought in the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Virender Sehwag and George Bailey. Bailey was picked for Rs. 3.25 crores and was appointed as the skipper.

Punjab Kings saw tremendous success in the first year under Bailey's leadership as they went on to top the league stage with 11 wins. The Kings made it to their first ever IPL final, a feat they haven't been able to repeat since. Eventually they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in the final. PBKS had a contrasting season in the following year, where they finished at the bottom of the table in IPL 2015.

George Bailey captained PBKS in 35 matches, registering 18 wins and 17 losses. As a player, he scored 581 runs for PBKS across two seasons at an average and strike rate of 25.3 and 133, respectively.

Virender Sehwag (2015)

India's destructive opener in his twilight years, was brought into the Punjab Kings side in 2014 for a price of Rs. 3.2 crores. Sehwag was part of PBKS for two years and had a terrific season in 2014, scoring 561 runs.

Sehwag led the PBKS team in a solitary match in IPL 2015 against Rajasthan Royals. Punjab Kings came out on the winning side in a super over.

David Miller (2016)

The South African power-hitter was brought into the Punjab side as a replacement for Dimitri Mascarenhas during IPL 2011 and was retained ahead of the 2012 edition. The Killer Miller has played many match-winning knocks for PBKS and was their longest serving player.

Miller was appointed as the skipper for the 2016 edition but was axed halfway into the tournament after a string of losses and for his poor personal form. He led PBKS in six games, out of which five resulted in losses.

As a batsman, Miller scored 1971 runs for Punjab Kings at a very good average and strike rate of 35.2 and 139.2, respectively. Miller's association with the Punjab franchise came to an end after 2019.

Murali Vijay (2016)

Punjab Kings brought in Murali Vijay in the 2015 auction for a sum of Rs. 3 crores. After the sacking of David Miller, Vijay took over as the PBKS skipper in IPL 2016. The change in captaincy didn't bring any luck for them as they finished at the bottom of the table with only four wins. Murali Vijay led the side in eight matches, winning three and losing five.

Glenn Maxwell (2017)

The Australian all-rounder has been an enigma as far as IPL is concerned. Maxwell was picked by Punjab Kings for Rs. 6 crores in the 2014 auction. Doing justice to his price, he set the stage on fire with 641 runs at an average of 30.5 and a phenomenal strike rate of 180. But since then he's had an awful record in the IPL.

Maxwell was appointed as the skipper for the 2017 edition. Punjab Kings finished fifth in the season with seven wins and seven losses under his leadership.

Ravichandran Ashwin (2018-2019)

In yet another squad overhaul, Punjab Kings brought in the likes of KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Yuvraj Singh, Aaron Finch and Ravichandran Ashwin in the 2018 mega auction. The off-spinner fetched a massive price of Rs. 7.2 crores. Known for having a brilliant cricket mind, Ashwin was handed over the captaincy in 2018.

Ashwin had promised to be innovative with his tactics ahead of the season and he did pull off some funky moves. However, Punjab's bad run continued as they finished seventh in 2018 and sixth in 2019. Ashwin, who picked 25 wickets for PBKS in two seasons at an economy of 7.67, was traded to Delhi Capitals after 2019.

KL Rahul (2020-2021)

The promising batsman was picked by Punjab Kings in the 2018 mega auction for a whopping sum of Rs. 11 crores. KL Rahul lit up the IPL with his extraordinary with the bat and earned the captaincy ahead of the 2020 edition.

Rahul could not change the fortunes of PBKS as they missed out on the playoffs in another season, finishing sixth. They were reeling at the sixth position in IPL 2021 too, before the season was postponed.

KL Rahul has captained PBKS in 21 matches, winning 9 and losing 12. Rahul has been a prolific run-getter for PBKS, scoring 2251 runs at an exceptional average of 56.3 and a strike rate of 139.4.

Mayank Agarwal (2021-2022)

KL Rahul's Karnataka teammate, Mayank Agarwal was brought into the Punjab side in 2018 for Rs. 1 crores. Since then he has been an integral part of Punjab Kings.

Agarwal has complemented Rahul at the top of the order extremely well, especially in the last two seasons. Rahul suffered an injury halfway into the 2021 season and Agarwal got an opportunity to lead the side in a solitary match before the tournament was postponed. A match PBKS lost despite Agarwal's spectacular knock of 99 off 58 balls.

Shikhar Dhawan (2022-2024)

Shikhar Dhawan was one of the most popular PBKS captains, but even he couldn’t change the team’s fortunes. He led the side for 17 games from 2022 to 2024 but under him the team won just six matches and lost 11. His best result as captain was when the team finished eighth out of ten, which is a pretty disappointing result. 
 

Sam Curran (2023-24)

England all-rounder Sam Curran was named the next PBKS captain in 2023. He initially came in for the injured Dhawan but did end up leading PBKS for 11 games. Under his leadership, Punjab won five and lost six games, which is a pretty decent result when compared to some of his predecessors. 

Shreyas Iyer (2025-Present)

Come IPL 2025, Punjab Kings have roped in Shreyas Iyer, a former IPL-winning captain with KKR, as their leader for the ongoing season. Iyer has a phenomenal record as captain. He has led Delhi Capitals to the final of the IPL a few years back and is now hoping to lead Punjab’s charge. He was picked for a mammoth Rs 26.75 crore by the franchise, who hope Iyer can end their IPL barren run.

Punjab Kings players list for IPL 2025

IPL 2025 Squad: Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Arshdeep Singh (Rs. 18 crore), Shreyas Iyer (Rs. 26.75 crore), Yuzvendra Chahal (Rs. 18 crore), Marcus Stoinis (Rs. 11 crore), Glenn Maxwell (Rs. 4.20 crore), Nehal Wadhera (Rs. 4.20 crore), Harpreet Brar (Rs. 1.50 crore), Vishnu Vinod (Rs. 95 lakh), Vijaykumar Vyshak (Rs. 1.80 crore), Yash Thakur (Rs. 1.60 crore), Marco Jansen (Rs. 7 crore), Josh Inglis (Rs. 2.60 crore), Lockie Ferguson (Rs. 2 crore), Azmatullah Omarzai (Rs. 2.40 crore), Harnoor Pannu (Rs. 30 lakh), Kuldeep Sen (Rs. 80 lakh), Priyansh Arya (Rs. 3.80 crore), Aaron Hardie (Rs. 1.25 crore), Musheer Khan (Rs. 30 lakh), Suryansh Shedge (Rs. 30 lakh), Xavier Bartlett (Rs. 80 lakh), Pyla Avinash (Rs. 30 lakh), Pravin Dubey (Rs. 30 lakh).

PBKS Purse Remaining: Rs. 0.35 crore

PBKS RTM Cards Left: 3

PBKS Player Slots Remaining: 0

PBKS Overseas Player Slots Remaining: 0

PBKS Retained Players List: Shashank Singh (Rs. 5.5 crore), Prabhsimran Singh (Rs. 4 crore).

What happened at the IPL auction 2025?

Punjab Kings went with a literal clean slate and lots of money in the bag. They had retained just Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh from last season and paid big money to rake in Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell. 

Punjab Kings IPL 2025 Full Schedule: Delhi Capitals matches, dates, timings, venues