The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League has been one of surprises till now. While the big names and pre-tournament favorites caught the eye initially, it is the less-fancied sides that have been making all the noise. Among them is Punjab Kings, who’ve raised eyebrows with a consistent campaign, pushing into the top four at the mid-point of the tournament.
Manoj Tiwary Makes Bold Prediction
But not everyone believes in their title contention. India cricketer Manoj Tiwary shared a pretty bleak forecast for the franchise recently when he predicted that Punjab will again fail to win their first-ever IPL title in 2025. His comments came after Punjab’s rain-affected match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens ended in a no-result.
Tiwary Criticizes Ricky Ponting
Tiwary, who had earlier played for KKR, was especially scathing in his criticism of Punjab’s team management and head coach Ricky Ponting. He blamed Ponting for playing out-of-form overseas players at the expense of in-form Indian players. His ire was aimed at Glenn Maxwell, who persisted with his hapless batting form, managing to score only 7 off 8 balls, even though he was given a second chance during a critical phase of the innings.
“Punjab Team Will Not Win”
“My gut feeling says that Punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn’t send Indian inform batters Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver, but they couldn’t and clearly showed lack of confidence in Indian players down the order. If he persists in this way, then the title is far from them irrespective of their qualification in the top two,” he tweeted.
Backing Maxwell Instead Of In-From Players
The retired cricketer did not think that the team could have utilized the tactical trick missing after Prabhsimran Singh’s thunderous 83 off 49. With 5 overs to go and an imposing total up for grabs, Tiwary had anticipated that Nehal Wadhera, a stoic No. 4 kind of player, would stroll out. Instead, the team deployed Maxwell. In the second game, with just 20 deliveries to go, Shashank Singh, arguably Punjab’s best finisher this season, was kept back while Marco Jansen and Josh Inglis went in above him.
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Tiwary was not shy in his evaluation, cautioning that if Ponting keeps ignoring solid Indian players for struggling foreign names, Punjab could end up wasting their best chance in years to claim the IPL crown.
