Picture Credit: X/BCCI
Former New Zealand player Simon Doull has urged Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer to drop Glenn Maxwell from the 11-member squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), set to be held in Mullanpur on April 15. Maxwell, who has returned to the PBKS set-up after five years, has been ineffective with his bat in the tournament. The 36-year-old Australian has hoarded only 34 runs in five outings at a disheartening strike of 109.67. Punjab kicked off their tournament exceptionally with comprehensive victories in their initial two matches but in the last three games, they have recorded a couple of losses which have pushed them to the sixth spot on the points tally.
Doull feels Maxwell has got ample opportunities from Punjab but is failing to deliver desired results consistently. Former Kiwi pacer opined that if he was PBKS' coach, he would’ve replaced Maxwell with Azmatullah Omarzai or Josh Inglis. "I think Maxwell has had his run. I mean, just the way he's getting out at the moment, it would frustrate me as a coach. That's the disappointing thing, I think, from their point of view. So Omarzai's in for him, Inglis in for him, would be something I'd probably look at," said Doull.
PBKS fail to defend 245 against SRH in IPL 2025
PBKS were dazed in their previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Defending 245 runs, their bowling unit got a hammering from Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma, who smashed an unprecedented 141 off just 55 deliveries. The Orange Army achieved the massive score in 18.3 overs with eight wickets in hand.
PBKS will have to be wary of reigning champions KKR as Ajinkya Rahane and his men will enter the game after keeping the fact in mind that they pulverised Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. In 2024, when both KKR and PBKS clashed with each other, Punjab pulled off a humongous target of 262 and became the IPL team to chase down the highest total.
