Jansen To Join Arshdeep; Two Ex-RCB Stars In; PBKS Probable Bowling Attack For IPL 2025

Arshdeep Singh and Harpreet Brar have been retained from IPL 2024. [Source: @IPL/X]

Punjab Kings’ ninth position on IPL 2024 points table might suggest otherwise but their bowlers generated a lot of impact throughout the season. Be it number of wickets, average or strike rate, they were only behind champions Kolkata Knight Riders.

Barring pacer Arshdeep Singh, joint third-highest T20 wicket-taker in the last one year, and spinner Harpreet Brar, who didn’t have the best of seasons personally, auction dynamics didn’t allow Kings to retain their top-performing bowlers. That said, the think-thank managed to up the quality and variety of bowlers ahead of IPL 2025.

PBKS’ IPL 2025 Squad

Shreyas Iyer (c), Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur, Harpreet Brar, Aaron Hardie, Vishnu Vinod, Kuldeep Sen, Xavier Bartlett, Suryansh Shedge, Pyla Avinash, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Singh, Praveen Dubey.

Like-For-Like Replacements For Harshal Patel, Sam Curran and Rahul Chahar

Pacer Harshal Patel was the highest wicket-taker during the 17th season of the IPL. While the franchise has roped in New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson as a replacement for Patel, South Africa all-rounder Marco Jansen will play in place of his English counterpart in Sam Curran.

With Ferguson and Jansen having picked 40+ wickets whilst leaking less than 8 runs per over in the last 12 months, PBKS have managed to bring onboard two in-form overseas pacers. Additionally, the duo has also been part of title-winning campaigns to impart knowledge at a franchise which has faced a dearth of titles since eternity.

Spinner Rahul Chahar, whose form dipped to a major extent last season, has been replaced by someone who would be looking to silence critics, i.e., Yuzvendra Chahal. Apart from the highest wicket-taker in IPL history, the development also means that Kings have the top two highest T20I wicket-takers for India at the moment.

Arshdeep Singh – A Complete T20 Bowler

Even though it’s rare to open the bowling with two left-arm pacers, expect captain Shreyas Iyer to hand the new ball to Jansen and Arshdeep at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday. Reason? Other than the obvious, the pair is among the best powerplay bowlers in the last 12 months.

[Table comprises bowlers with most powerplay wickets in the last 12 months]

With Arshdeep picking 24 wickets at an average of 14.37 and an economy rate of 9.36 in the death overs in the same period, he’s also the fourth-highest wicket-taker in this aspect. In what are clear-cut signs regarding a complete T20 bowler, retaining him is already a coup for the franchise.

Yuzvendra Chahal Needs To Come Good

For Punjab to march towards a maiden title win, Chahal will have to come good. In what is already his best season in terms of salary, he would want to reach similar levels with his bowling as well.

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Used to the esteemed presence of Ravichandran Ashwin at Rajasthan Royals, the 34-year-old player could be under a tad bit pressure in the absence of such a figure. Brar, on the contrary, will have to assist the leg-spinner like a specialist spinner. Known for his occasional praiseworthy spells, Brar is one of the two bowlers to have not picked 25+ wickets despite bowling 100 overs since his IPL debut.

Indian Trio Likely To Be Used As Impact Players

For a squad which has no dearth of tried and tested overseas names, Punjab are almost certain of rotating Indian pacers such as Yash Thakur, Vijaykumar Vyshak and Kuldeep Sen as Impact Players. With each one of them having played in the cash-rich league in the past, Iyer could use them to bowl middle overs, in particular.

All-Rounders In Abundance

If truth be told, PBKS’ strength lies in overseas all-rounders. With the Australian duo of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis likely to be part of the Playing XI against Gujarat Titans, both of them are more than handy with the ball in hand. As a matter of fact, they can contribute in different stages of a T20.

As and when they get opportunities, Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai and Australia all-rounder Aaron Hardie also categorize as genuine all-rounders.

PBKS’ Probable Bowling Attack For IPL 2025

Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal & Harpreet Brar

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