Punjab Kings (PBKS) have been one of the least successful teams in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), with only one appearance in the final, which came in 2014. Following this, the PBKS have not been able to reach the playoff stage of the IPL in the last nine seasons, which coincided with frequent changes in their playing squad and team management.
Despite only two playoff appearances in the first 16 seasons of the IPL, Punjab Kings have had a fair share of top Indian and overseas cricketers donning their jerseys. In this article, SportsTiger looks at the all-time Playing XI of PBKS.
Openers – KL Rahul (c) /(wk), Chris Gayle
KL Rahul took his batting to the next level during his four-year tenure with Punjab Kings from 2018 to 2021, becoming the highest scorer in franchise history, with 2548 runs in 55 matches while admirably captaining them. During the same time, Chris Gayle, who had already established a legendary status in the RCB colours, also became an integral part of Punjab Kings, scoring 1383 runs in 41 matches, including one hundred and 10 fifties.
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Middle Order – Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Yuvraj Singh, David Miller
Shaun Marsh spent the first 10 seasons of the IPL at Punjab Kings, becoming a cult hero for the franchise after scoring nearly 2500 runs in more than 70 matches, notching up a hundred and 20 fifties. Glenn Maxwell wasn’t one of the consistent cricketers during his time at the PBKS, but he did play a crucial role for the franchise in reaching the first final in the IPL in 2018.
Yuvraj Singh, the Indian all-rounder, was at the peak of his powers as a cricketer during the first season of the IPL, captaining the franchise to the playoffs, but he couldn’t replicate his heroics for them in the subsequent seasons. David Miller was one of the most influential cricketers during his time at the PBKS, scoring nearly 2000 runs in 84 matches, at a very impressive average and strike rate, which included a special hundred against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2013 season.
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All-rounders – Axar Patel, Irfan Pathan
During his time with Punjab Kings in the IPL from 2014 to 2018, Axar Patel picked up 69 wickets in 73 matches, becoming one of the top bowlers in the history of the franchise, along with making key contributions with the bat. Irfan Pathan was a big part of the PBKS in the first three seasons of the IPL, playing a vital role in bowling the key overs for the team and scoring quick runs in the latter stages of their batting innings.
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Bowlers – Piyush Chawla, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Piyush Chawla played in the first six seasons of the IPL for Punjab Kings, picking up 84 wickets in 87 matches, which is still the highest in the history of the franchise. Mohammed Shami had three impactful seasons for the PBKS from 2019 to 2021, taking a bag of wickets in all phases of the game.
Arshdeep Singh established himself as one of the most consistent bowlers in the T20 circuit after making his debut in the IPL for Punjab Kings in 2019. He is currently in fifth place in the all-time wicket-taking list for the PBKS, and his tenure at the franchise led him to the Indian cricket team in limited overs cricket.
