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Can Punjab Kings Go All The Way? No, According To Manoj Tiwary

The 2025 Indian Premier League season has started, and the playoff picture is already shaping up. One of the teams that’s punching above their weight and is showing serious signs of being a contender are the Punjab Kings. They’re currently sitting in the position No4 that leads to the playoffs, on the brink of the first no-result match as their match with the Kolkata Knight Riders was interrupted due to the rain. 

Can Punjab Kings Win IPL 2025?

Credit: Outlook India

While their form suggests that they could even mount a title challenge, Manoj Tiwary begs to differ.  He is sure that the Punjab Kings are not going to win their first ever Indian Super League title. His reasoning for a grim prediction is the fact that in his eyes the coach Ricky Ponting is giving too many chances to foreign players, while the local boys who are in top form are being neglected. If you don’t agree with Tiwary, scroll a bit through IPL betting for beginners, and see how well do the Kings fare according to the bookies, who are known to be unbiased unlike Manoj. 

The former cricket player, who was a seasoned IPL veteran before retiring, claims that the bias toward foreign players he mentioned was more than visible during the rainy duel between the Kings and Knight Riders. A duel that saw both teams adding a no-result to their 2025 IPL season record, left Kings sitting at the spot No4 with five wins and three losses. That’s a good record, and gives the Kings a realistic shot at reaching the playoffs and eventual IPL final. 

Yet, Tiwary has noticed a tendency that the Punjab Kings coach has and he believes it’s going to cost the team in the long run. What doesn’t sit well with Manoj is the batting order instilled by Ponting. The flaws in the Punjab Kings system were visible when Prabhsimran Singh was dismissed during the team’s last outing. Singh was dismissed in the 15th over after having 83 of 49 balls.

What followed was what ticket Tiwary off.  INstead of going with a proven player such as Nehal Wadhera, who showed his worth both with the Kings and previously with Mumbai Indians, he was left on the bench, and at number four we saw Glenn Maxwell. The decision does seem baffling as it is evident that Wadhera is a player in better form, while Maxwell proved that his game is off after hitting only seven runs from eight balls.

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What followed was even more baffling for Manoj Tiwary. When it came to the final 20 balls, the likes of Shashank Singhwas left off in favour of players such as Marco Jansen and Josh Inglis. The one is an established finisher who was the right choice according to Tiwary when it came to a target of 200-plus total. Yet, the final decision in sports is always in the hands of a coach, and for Manoj, it is Ponting who has a bias for foreign players in on-field situations when picking better Indian players would be a more logical choice. 

Tiwary took his thoughts to the social media and shared on X that the title will remain a dream for the Punjab Kings as long as the coach fails to recognize that he’s wrong in picking foreign players in key moment of the matches at the expense of good, in-form Indian players such as Wadhera and Singh. 

While Tiwary might have a point, the 2025 IPL season has seen more than a few surprise results and some unlikely title candidates have remained afloat. Early betting odds have not been favouring the Punjab Kings, and yet they’re sitting in the position leading to playoffs, showing that Ricky Ponting might be doing something right. 

After all, they have remained undefeated in the rain against the last year’s champions the Kolkata Knight Riders. They’re in a good spot, and we could even argue that the team has a favourable schedule in the next few rounds with plenty of winnable matches. The next two matches are the ones that could and should be won as they face Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, and then host the Lucknow Super Giants. Both of these matches are super winnable, and could make a great prelude to the incoming matches against Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, both of teams that are in the playoff race. 

If you haven’t been following IPL in 2025 the league is currently being led by Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals each with six wins and two defeats. Right behind are the Royal Challengers Bengaluru with a 6:3 score, and Punjab Kings with 5:3. Breathing behind their necks are the Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants both with 5:4 score. The rest of the league is in an unfavourable position and without a five-win streak no team positioned below the position No6 doesn’t have any real chances of mounting a playoff run.

For more news articles and informative updates on IPL teams like the Punjab Kings as well as other football and cricket updates, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com.

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