Punjab Kings are the IPL's perennial underachievers. Never won, never even made the final. But the 2025 mega auction was a fresh start, and they went all-in on building a squad that could actually compete.
The franchise invested in a proper pace attack for the first time in years. They also focused on Indian middle-order depth rather than just loading up on overseas stars. It's a more balanced approach than we've seen from PBKS before.
Shikhar Dhawan's retirement left a leadership void. The new captain needs to change the franchise's losing culture — that's harder than any on-field challenge. The batting relies heavily on one or two overseas stars firing consistently.
PBKS would consider a playoff appearance a massive success. Realistically, they're competing for the 4th/5th spot. A top-2 finish would require everything going right, which historically doesn't happen for this franchise.
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