IPL 2026: Punjab Kings (PBKS), which missed the title by just six runs in IPL 2025, has now started preparations for the next season. The franchise has time till November 15 to submit the retention and release list of players. Despite the new captaincy, new enthusiasm and excellent performance of the old players, the team had to face defeat in the final. Now under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, Punjab would like to enter IPL 2026 with a strong and balanced team.

The strong core of the team will remain intact

The franchise currently has many reliable players who had performed well in the last season. Shreyas Iyer batted brilliantly as captain and scored 604 runs. Whereas, fast bowler Arshdeep Singh and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal were the most successful bowlers of the team.

Shashank Singh had won everyone’s hearts with his explosive finishing in the middle order. Apart from them, Prabhsimran Singh and young opener Priyansh Arya have also confirmed their place by performing brilliantly.

The blame may fall on these players

However, there are some big names whose performance has not lived up to expectations.

Glenn Maxwell – On whom Punjab expressed confidence for many seasons, but his bat did not yield consistent runs.

Marcus Stoinis – Which were bought for Rs 11 crore, proved to be an ‘expensive investment’ for the team.

Aaron Hardy and Musheer Khan – These two players may also not get a place in the team. Hardy sat on the bench throughout the season, while Mushir got a chance to play only one match. According to sources, Punjab can adopt the strategy of releasing these players and bidding again in the auction, so that a better combination can be made.

players to be retained

Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Vijaykumar Vyasak, Yash Thakur, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Marco Jansen, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Kuldeep Sen, Praveen Dubey, Azmatullah Omarzai, Lockie Ferguson.

potential release players

Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardy, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Singh.

further strategy

Punjab Kings will now go to the auction in search of balanced all-rounders and death bowlers. The team’s aim will be to not repeat the mistake of 2025 and win the title in 2026.

Australia, playing first, scored 186 runs in the third T20 match. Tim David thrashed the Indian bowlers by playing a stormy inning of 74 runs. Apart from him, Marcus Stoinis also scored 64 runs in the death overs. Arshdeep Singh was the most successful bowler for the Indian team, who took 3 wickets. Varun Chakraborty once again proved to be an effective bowler, taking two wickets.

Team India is trailing 1-0 in the series, it is necessary to win to remain in the race to win the series. Indian bowlers made a strong start by taking two wickets of Australia at the score of just 14. There was such a storm from Tim David that fours and sixes started raining from one end.

Chakraborty got the withdrawal done

Marsh and David were moving the scoreboard forward by scoring runs rapidly. Then in the 9th over, Varun Chakraborty gave a breakthrough to Team India by dismissing Mitchell Marsh. Stormy batsman Mitchell Owen was out without opening the account. When Tim David was out on the score of 74, Australia lost the fifth wicket on the score of 118. David scored 74 runs in 38 balls, which included 8 fours and 5 sixes.

After that Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Short took over the responsibility. Together they added 64 runs in 39 balls. Stoinis scored 64 runs in 39 balls, in which he hit 8 fours and 2 sixes. Matthew Short played a cameo inning of 26 runs, helping Australia reach the score of 186. Arshdeep Singh took 3 wickets in the match. Varun Chakraborty took 2 wickets and Shivam Dubey took one wicket.

Also read:

IND vs AUS 3rd T20: Tim David is the second fastest batsman to score a half-century, Travis Head’s record broken in the 3rd T20 against India

After the ODI series between India and Australia, now a five-match T20 series will be played. Many changed faces will be seen in both the teams in the T20 series. The first match of the T20 series will be played on Wednesday, 29 October. According to Indian time, this match will start at 1:45 pm. Even in the T20 series, the command of the Kangaroo team is in the hands of Mitchell Marsh. Know here with which 11 players the Australian team can take the field in this match.

Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head will open

Like the ODI series, in the T20 series too, captain Mitchell Marsh and explosive batsman Travis Head will open the innings. After this, spin all-rounder Matthew Short is certain to play at number three. Wicketkeeper Josh English can be seen at number four. English was not a part of the team in the ODI series.

After this, the Australian team is full of explosive batsmen. Tim David at number five, Marcus Stoinis at number six and Mitchell Owen at number seven can be seen in action. These three players are adept at scoring runs fast. Adam Zampa will be the main spinner. Then in fast bowling, Josh Hazlewood and Xavier Bartlett can be seen in action along with bowling all-rounder Ben Dwarshuis. Xavier Bartlett bowled amazingly in ODI. In such a situation, it is considered certain that he will get a chance in the T20 team also.

Australia’s probable playing eleven in the first T20 against India- Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (captain), Matthew Short, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Owen, Ben Dwarshuis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood and Xavier Bartlett.

Complete schedule of India-Australia 5 match T20 series

1st T20 – October 29 – Canberra – 1:45 pm IST
Second T20 – 31 October – Melbourne – 1:45 pm Indian time
3rd T20 – 2 November – Hobart – 1:45 pm IST
4th T20 – 6 November – Gold Coast – 1:45 pm IST
Fifth T20 – November 8 – Gabba – 1:45 pm IST

Cricket photo gallery

Cricketers Retired in 2025: The year 2025 was memorable for cricket lovers, but also emotional in many ways. This year, not one, two or three, but a total of 11 big international cricket stars shocked the fans by retiring. These players not only broke the records in their career, but also won crores of hearts. This year, legendary players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith broke the hearts of crores of fans by retiring. Let’s know who are 11 players who retired in 2025.

11 veteran players who retired in the year 2025

1- Virat Kohli- Indian veteran batsman Kohli shocked everyone by retiring from Test cricket last month. Kohli has played 123 Test matches for India. During this, he has scored 9230 runs. Kohli has scored 30 centuries in Test cricket.

2- Rohit Sharma- Former Indian captain Rohit Sharma has also said goodbye to Test cricket last month. Rohit played 67 Test matches for India. During this, he scored 4301 runs with the help of 10 centuries.

3- Steve Smith- Australian veteran batsman Steve Smith retired from ODI cricket after the Champions Trophy. Smith has scored 5,800 runs in 170 ODIs thanks to 12 centuries.

4- Glenn Maxwell- Australia’s finest all -rounder Glenn Maxwell has also retired from ODI cricket. Maxwell has scored 3990 runs in 149 ODIs. He has also taken 77 wickets.

5- Marcus Stoinis- The all -rounder of Australia shocked everyone by retiring from ODI cricket just before the Champions Trophy. Stoinis has scored 1495 runs in 74 ODIs and has taken 48 wickets.

6- Heinrich Klassen- South Africa’s wicketkeeper batsman surprised everyone by retiring in all the formats of cricket at the age of just 33 years. Klassen has played four Tests, 60 ODIs and 58 T20 matches for South Africa.

7- Martin Guptill- New Zealand’s best batsman Martin Guptill retired from cricket at the beginning of the year. He has played 47 Tests, 198 ODIs and 122 T20 matches for New Zealand.

8- Dimuth Karunaratne- Sri Lankan’s finest batsman Dimuth Karunaratne also retired from all the formats of cricket this year. Dimuth has scored 7222 in 100 Tests for Sri Lanka and 1316 runs in 50 ODIs.

9- Angelo Mathews – Sri Lankan legendary batsman Angelo Mathews has also retired from Test cricket. Mathews has scored 8214 runs in Test cricket by playing 119 matches.

10- Nicholas Puran- West Indies explosive batsman Nicholas Puran surprised everyone by retiring from all formats of international cricket at the age of 29.

11- Mushfiqur Rahim- Bangladesh wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim announced his retirement from ODI cricket after the Champions Trophy. Mushfiqur has played 274 ODIs for Bangladesh. During this, he has scored 7795 runs.

Also read- Sourav Ganguly will become the coach of Team India? Will Gautam Gambhir take place? Heart of heart from the world

IPL 2025 Final: Royal Challengers Bangalore won their first IPL Trophy by defeating Punjab Kings by 6 runs in the IPL 2025 final held on Tuesday, June 3. Shreyas Iyer won the toss and decided to bowl first. RCB had set a target of 191 runs to win in front of Punjab, which was not very difficult but the Punjab team remained 7 runs away from the target. Shashank Singh struggled till the end but he could not win. Know 5 criminals of Punjab’s defeat in the final.

The Punjab Kings salute pair (Priyansh Arya and Prabhasimran Singh) made a slow start, although it seemed that the middle order batsmen including captain Shreyas Iyer would cover it, but this could not happen. Shashank Singh scored an unbeaten 61 in 30 balls but no other batsman could support him and the team lost the final by 6 runs.

5 criminals of Punjab Kings defeat in the final

Prabhasimran Singh shared 43 runs with Priyansh Arya and then 29 runs with Josh English, but he batted very slowly. He scored 26 runs and played 22 balls for this. While he hit 2 sixes. That is, if they remove those 2 shots, they scored 14 runs in 20 balls.

Shreyas Iyer

Of course, the whole season Shreyas Iyer’s bat has gone well, he should join the top 5 runs scorer and be the highest run -scorer batsmen for Punjab Kings, but he is also a guilty of the final defeat. When Prabhasimran was dismissed, Punjab scored 72 runs in 8.3 overs, Punjab was in good condition but he returned to the pavilion after scoring just 1 run. This increased the pressure on the team.

Nehal Vadhera

Vadhera ruined a lot of balls in the middle order, causing Punjab to fall behind. Vadhera scored 15 runs in 18 balls in the final against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Marcus Stoinis

Stoinis finally needed a good innings, he also hit a six on the first ball but was caught out by playing irresponsible shots on the next ball. He could not read a slow ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and only bathed, and the ball went straight into the fielder’s hands.

Kyle jaimison

In the IPL final, the most expensive bowler for Punjab Kings was Kyle Jeemison, who took 3 wickets but also took runs from the economy of 12. He conceded 48 runs in his 4 overs spell.

Pbks vs rcb ipl 2025 final: Punjab Kings’s dream of winning the IPL title was once again broken. Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Punjab by 6 runs in the IPL 2025 final. Know which were the 3 major reasons for the defeat of Punjab Kings.

Shreyas Iyer won the toss and decided to bowl first. Virat Kohli scored the most 43 runs for RCB. The Bengaluru team had set a target of 191 runs to win in front of Punjab Kings, which was not very difficult on this pitch.

Shashank Singh stayed till the end and tied the expectations of victory for the last moments, but no other batsman could finally support him. Shashank scored an unbeaten 61 runs in 30 balls with the help of 6 sixes and 3 fours, but could not win the team.

Prabhasimran Singh’s slow innings

Chasing 191 runs, Punjab Kings definitely added 43 runs for the first wicket, but Prabhasimran Singh and Priyansh Arya made a slow start. While Priyansh scored 24 runs in 19 balls, Prabhasimran played 22 balls to score 26 runs.

Captain Shreyas Iyer did not bat

This season, the lead scorer for Punjab Kings, captain Shreyas Iyer’s bat did not run in the final. He was dismissed by scoring 1 run in 2 balls, Romario Shepherd made him his victim. At the time when she came, Punjab was in good condition, but after her wicket, the game went back on the back.

Nehal Vadhera wasted the balls

When Shashank Singh and Nehal Vadhera were at the crease, the victory was not difficult for Punjab. But Nehal ruined the balls due to which the pressure on the team continued to grow. Nehal played 18 balls to score 15 runs.

The tears say it all

An 1 1—yar wait come to an end

Updates https://t.co/u5zvvhcvdo#Tataipl , #RCBVPBKS , #Final , #Heelastmile , @imvkohli pic.twitter.com/x15xdmxb0k

– Indianpremierleague (@IPL) June 3, 2025

RCB won the first IPL Trophy

Royal Challengers Bangalore won their first IPL Trophy by winning the final by 6 runs, RCB, like Punjab Kings, was also waiting for the first trophy for the last 17 years which is over now. Krunal Pandya bowled brilliantly, he gave only 17 runs in 4 overs and took 2 wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also took 2 wickets. Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood and Romario Shepherd got 1-1 wickets.

Rohit Sharma, who scored 81 runs against Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2025 Eliminator 1 match, failed to score a big score in Ugificial 2 against Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Rohit tried to fly off the ball of PBKS all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, but was caught out at Deep-back square leg. After taking Rohit’s wicket, Stoinis celebrated his chest beating his chest in an aggressive manner, which has gone viral.

pic.twitter.com/fjkkzgwul2

– Cricketk (@Cricketk7) June 1, 2025

Let us know that Punjab Kings have broken the dream of winning the IPL title by defeating Mumbai in the eliminator match played on Sunday.

Rohit batted brilliantly in the last match

In the last match, Rohit Sharma became the second batsman to cross the 7,000 -run mark in the history of IPL. He achieved this feat during an innings of 81 runs against Gujarat Titans while playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 eliminator on Friday.

Rohit Sharma, who landed for batting in an important match like Eliminator, had taken an aggressive stance against the Gujarat Titans bowlers from the beginning of the innings and played a bang of 81 runs. Thanks to this innings, Rohit became the second batsman to complete 7,000 runs in the IPL after Virat Kohli.

Rohit scored 81 runs in his 50 -ball innings with the help of nine fours and four sixes. This was Rohit’s 47th half -century of IPL. Rohit touched a magic figure of 7,000 runs as soon as he scored the 43rd run during this innings. He achieved this feat in the 266th innings of his 271st match.

During this innings, four sixes came out of Rohit’s bat. Rohit Sharma, popularly known as Hitman, has now had 302 sixes in the IPL. He is the first Indian batsman to hit 300 or more sixes in IPL history and the second batsman after overall Chris Gayle. Gayle ranks first with 357 sixes.

Rohit Sharma started his IPL career in 2008 while playing for Deccan Chargers Hyderabad. He has been associated with Mumbai Indians since 2011. Rohit has scored 7,038 runs in 266 innings of 271 matches played since 2008. During this time, two centuries and 47 half -centuries are his names.

Along with the successful batsman, Rohit’s name is one of the successful captains of the IPL. He has made Mumbai Indians a five -time champion under his captaincy.

(With agency input)