Punjab Kings Aim for Fresh Start with Massive Purse and New Coach

Punjab Kings, under the guidance of new head coach Ricky Ponting, are embarking on a fresh start for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. With a massive purse of Rs 110.5 crore, the franchise has retained only two uncapped players, Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh.

Ponting believes this is an opportunity to reshape the team's identity and play a more dynamic and entertaining brand of cricket. He aims to make Punjab Kings the most exciting franchise in the IPL, both on and off the field.

The Australian legend expressed surprise at the release of star players like Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul by their respective teams. He emphasized the importance of identifying key targets and setting a budget for the auction.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with a purse of Rs 83 crore, has the second-largest budget after Punjab Kings. The full retention list for all IPL teams is as follows:

* Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni

* Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel

* Gujarat Titans: Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan

* Kolkata Knight Riders: Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh

* Lucknow Super Giants: Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni

* Mumbai Indians: Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma

* Punjab Kings: Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh

* Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Sandeep Sharma

* Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal

* Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head

Tags: #IPL2025, #PunjabKings, #RickyPonting, #PlayerRetention, #AuctionStrategy