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Punjab Kings' finisher Shashank Singh names his playing XI for IPL 2025, no place for Lockie Ferguson and no.1 ODI all-rounder

Shashank Singh picked Josh Inglis to open the innings alongside Prabhsimran Singh ahead of their Rs 3.8 crore uncapped recruit Priyansh Arya.

Sports Tak

• Mon • 17 Mar 2025

Punjab Kings' Shashank Singh celebrates their win against Gujarat Titans at the Indian Premier League (IPL) match in the Narendra Modi Stadium of Ahmedabad on April 4, 2024.

Highlights:

Shashank Singh snubbed overseas star players Lockie Ferguson, Azmatullah Omarzai.

Shashank Singh picked Nehal Wadhera as uncapped finisher ahead of Suryansh Shedge.

Shashank believes Punjab Kings will qualify for playoffs by finishing at top of points table.

Punjab Kings' (PBKS) uncapped finisher Shashank Singh, who was retained for Rs 5.5 crore by the franchise, named the likely playing XI in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Shashank was PBKS' top run-scorer in the previous edition pulling off sensational run chases, joining forces with Ashutosh Sharma. He did not pick star New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson and Afghanistan's pace-bowling all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai who is currently the no.1 ranked ODI all-rounder.

During an interview with Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, he picked Australia wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis and uncapped Prabhsimran Singh to open the innings. He has kept captain Shreyas Iyer at no.3 followed by Australia's Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell at no.4 and no.5 respectively.

At no.6, he has chosen himself. Nehal Wadhera is his choice at no.7 for the finisher role. South Africa's pace-bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen is at no.8. The three bowlers in the team are left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

Impact players

As impact players, he has kept pacers Yash Thakur and Kuldeep Sen who were picked for Rs 1.60 crore and Rs 80 lakh respectively.

Prominent players snubbed

The big misses from the uncapped players category are opening batter Priyansh Arya who hit six sixes in an over in Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2024 and Mumbai's Suryansh Shedge who can also play the finisher role. However, Shashank named Arya as replacement for Inglis in case the Australian gets injured. The left-handed batter was roped in for Rs 3.8 crore in the mega auction.

Other overseas players he snubbed are Australia's Aaron Hardie and Xavier Bartlett.

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Shashank's top 4 teams

In addition, Shashank was asked to pick the teams that will make it to playoffs. He backed PBKS to finish at the top of the points table followed by his former franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He feels the fourth spot will be claimed by either of the five-time IPL winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) or Mumbai Indians (MI).

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PBKS will start their campaign against Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on March 25.

PBKS' likely Playing XI by Shashank Singh:

Josh Inglis, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.