Punjab Kings IPL 2026 Preview: Squad, Strengths, Weaknesses & Key Players

Punjab Kings finished as runner-up in 2025 after several underwhelming seasons in the IPL. Historically, the franchise has reached the semifinals once and ended as runner-up twice.

Despite limited success in terms of titles, Punjab Kings has built a reputation for posting big scores, largely driven by its aggressive and explosive batting line-up.

Here are the three things that will be in focus for PBKS ahead of the upcoming season.

UNDERUSED SPIN?

510

Deliveries of spin bowled in IPL 2025

Punjab Kings made limited use of spin, bowling just 510 deliveries across 16 matches, the second-lowest among all teams.

This was surprising given its effectiveness. The spin unit picked up 32 wickets, the joint second-highest in the league, and recorded the best dismissal rate (15.9).

For most of the season, Punjab relied on either Yuzvendra Chahal or Harpreet Brar, supported by part-time overs from Glenn Maxwell. With the addition of Cooper Connolly, the side may look to increase its reliance on spin, provided it improves on an economy rate of 9.04.

DEATH-OVERS DOMINANCE

12.00

Highest scoring rate in overs 16–20 in IPL 2025

Punjab Kings was the most destructive side in the death overs last season, scoring at 12 runs per over, the best in the league. Its average of 28.44 was also comfortably the highest, with Mumbai Indians a distant second.

This late surge powered Punjab to eight 200-plus totals in 14 matches. Captain Shreyas Iyer led the charge, striking at nearly 228, the highest among batters who faced at least 40 balls in this phase.

SECOND-SEASON TEST

179.24

Priyansh Arya’s strike rate in IPL 2025

Priyansh Arya was one of the breakout performers last season, scoring 475 runs at a strike rate of 179.24, including a century against Chennai Super Kings.

However, since the end of IPL 2025, his returns have dipped slightly. In 11 T20 innings, he has scored 275 runs at a strike rate of 158, with his boundary frequency dropping from 30% to 24%.

How Arya responds to this phase will be key as he looks to overcome the typical second-season challenge.

Full Squad

Head Coach: Ricky Ponting

Squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Xavier Bartlett, Pravin Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Harnoor Singh, Yash Thakur, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Vishnu Vinod, Ben Dwarshuis, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Vishal Nishad

Published on Mar 27, 2026