Glenn Maxwell has struggled with the bat for PBKS in IPL 2025.
Ricky Ponting, Punjab Kings (PBKS) coach in IPL 2025, had a humorous answer to the notion of moving Shreyas Iyer to number three and replacing him with Glenn Maxwell. Shreyas has been a revelation at No.3 for Punjab this season, scoring 250 runs in six matches, whereas Maxwell has only scored 41 runs in the middle order.
The Australian has performed well in the IPL as a higher-order batsman, and Robin Uthappa proposed it to Ponting following the KKR victory. The PBKS coach joked that if he wanted to keep his job, he should stop moving the captain around. Ponting further stated that the Punjab batting order is not about numbers but about bringing them into the game at the proper time.
"Yeah, we've got a guy called Shreyas Iyer at number 3. If I want to stay in my job, I'm probably not going to move the captain. So, as we all know, the captain sets the batting order. He's pretty happy at number 3 and he's been outstanding in the tournament. So, you know we're always trying to find the right time in the game. It's not about numbers that these guys bat. It's about the right time that you can inject them into the game. So, we've got good flexibility with our batting order. We've moved a few guys around already this season. As things go on, and we come up with a more settled side, there probably won't be guys moving around too much," said Ponting, talking to commentators after the PBKS v KKR match.
Ponting also discussed the decision to drop Marcus Stoinis to accommodate Josh Inglis in the PBKS XI for this match. The PBKS coach stated that it was a tactical one to bring in Josh Inglis into the side as he was better against spin. And also, for the need to keep Marco Jansen and Glenn Maxwell in the side for the matchups with the ball.
"Yeah, a tough decision to leave Stoinis out, you know, we wanted to bring Inglis into the side. Inglis is a noted player of spin who didn't probably look that way tonight, but he is a very, very good player of spin. His keeping is as good as anyone's in the world as well, and we wanted the matchups with the ball with Marco. We wanted the matchups with the ball with Glenn Maxwell. So unfortunately for Marcus Stoinis, it had to be him that missed out tonight, but then you go to a different venue, you know, In two days we're up in Bangalore against them up there. Who knows what combination we might come up with for that?" said Ponting.
Punjab Kings will next face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Bengaluru on April 18.