Former cricketer Manoj Tiwary believes this strategy will hinder PBKS’s chances of winning the IPL due to a lack of confidence in local talent. Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary launched a stinging attack on Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting, accusing him of showing bias towards foreign players over local Indian talent during PBKS’s IPL 2025 match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Punjab Kings had a terrific outing with the bat in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Ricky Ponting faces criticism for promoting out-of-form Glenn Maxwell over in-form Indian players during a match against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Ricky Ponting’s bizarre decision restricted PBKS to sub par total after a rollicking start vs KKR
Former Australian captain and current IPL franchise coach Ricky Ponting has once again come under fire for his strategy of promoting the Australian up the order against in-form Indian cricketers in Saturday’s match against Kolkata Knight Riders. In the crucial encounter, PBKS openers Prabhsimran Singh (83 off 49 balls) and Priyansh Arya (69 off 35 balls) took their team past the 120-run mark in just under 12 overs. After Priyansh Arya’s wicket at the end of the 12th over, Prabhsimran fell in the 15th over.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer (25*) walked out at three, and after that, the strategy by the Punjab Kings amazed many. With just a few overs left, coach Ricky Ponting sent out batters Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen and Josh Inglis, who failed to shine. It was expected that Ricky Ponting would send Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh, but that wasn’t the case. And, as a result of that, Punjab Kings failed to finish on high. They posted a total of 201 runs, which wasn’t expected as they were all set for a total of around 220.
Shashank has scored 158 runs from seven innings at an average of 52.66 in the ongoing season with one fifty to his name. On the other hand, Nehal Wadhera has accumulated 189 runs from seven innings, having played match-winning knocks against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). However, the duo didn’t a chance to bat against KKR.
Former India National Cricket Team player Manoj Tiwary took a brutal dig at Ricky Ponting for the Punjab Kings’ batting order in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders. He said that the Shreyas Iyer-led side won’t be winning the league because the coach trusted his Australian players rather than in-form Indian players.
Manoj Tiwary slams PBKS batting decisions to favour out of form foreign players in place of in form Indian players vs KKR in 2025
Former India batter Manoj Tiwary criticised the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for their decision not to use Indian batters such as Shashank Singh and Nehal Wadhera against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The two sides are facing off in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match at Eden Gardens on Saturday, April 21. Tiwary felt that PBKS would not win the tournament this year if they did not show confidence in their Indian batters.
After the fall of the opening duo of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, PBKS sent out Glenn Maxwell at number four and Marco Jansen at number five. The latter’s fall for just 3 runs saw Josh Inglis walk out at number six on Saturday.
“My gut feeling says that Punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn’t send Indian inform batters Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver, but they couldn’t and clearly showed lack of confidence in Indian players down the order.
He warned that if Ponting continues to show lack of faith in Indian players, PBKS would struggle to lift the trophy, even if they qualify in the Top 2.
If he persist in this way then the title is far from them irrespective of there qualification in top two,” Manoj Tiwary wrote on X on Saturday, April 26.
Meanwhile, the match got washed out after incessant rain at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Following the washout, they are currently placed fourth on the points table with five wins from nine matches, having 11 points to their name. They will next take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 30 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.