Punjab Kings backed Glenn Maxwell but dropped Marcus Stoinis for KKR game.
In a shocking move, Punjab Kings (PBKS) left out in-form all-rounder Marcus Stoinis from their playing XI for the ongoing IPL 2025 match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Mullanpur. Instead, the Shreyas Iyer-led side continued to back Glenn Maxwell despite his poor display with the bat this season.
While experts feared an injury concern for Stoinis, a visual at the start of the match painted a different story altogether.
"Is he injured? Did Shreyas Iyer say anything about Stoinus being injured? If he is not injured, that's astounding. What did he get at the back end in the last game, Stoinis? He smashed some 30, did he at the back end? That too of very few balls," former New Zealand cricketer-turned-commentator Simon Doull said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
Doull also suggested that Punjab's move could be down to KKR’s batting line-up featuring as many as four left-handers, against whom Maxwell’s right-arm off-spin could be handy.
"Unless they're thinking, I mean, how many lefties are in that Kolkata lineup with? Maxwell may play a role with De Kock, Narine there, Venkatesh Iyer in the middle order and Rinku at 6 or 7. So maybe they think Maxwell has to play a bit of a role. Maybe that's the reason. But I'm a little bit shocked because the runs aren't coming from Maxwell," he added.
Doull, however, maintained his opinion that it was a bad move, given that Maxwell has scored only 105 runs from six innings this season so far.
"I didn't think it was that bad. But you know, those are awful numbers. And to keep him in the team purely as a bowling option is a very interesting one," he remarked.
Amid the speculations, the broadcasters showed a pre-game visual, in which PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting was seen having an intense chat with Stoinis, who was all gloved up and practising his batting.
Stoinis seemed visibly upset at the end of the conversation, before he made his way back to the dug-out.
Former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa, who was on-air, said: “They must have deliberated a great deal about the team. This looks like the decision was taken right here at the ground. Stoinis has his gloves and bat there. He is just getting the bad news there. Horrible news. It's tough to drop anyone.”
Coming to the match, Punjab Kings’ innings folded for a paltry 111 in 15.3 overs after they won the toss and elected to bat first. It was a listless performance with the bat as no one managed to cross the 30-run mark.
Glenn Maxwell endured another failure, returning with score of 7 from 10 deliveries. He was knocked over by KKR’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy.