Punjab Kings Schedule IPL 2025: Punjab Kings (PBKS) entered the Indian Premier League 2025 mega auction with the highest purse and have made some significant purchases heading into the new season. Shreyas Iyer, who won the IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last year, will be leading PBKS this year after being bought for Rs 26.75 crore in the mega auction. Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh were the other big Indian buys, while the purchases of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Marco Jansen add explosive overseas firepower. Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh were retained by the franchise.

Here is Punjab Kings’ IPL 2025 schedule in full:

25 March: GT vs PBKS – Ahmedabad – 7:30 PM IST

1 April: LSG vs PBKS – Lucknow – 7:30 PM IST

5 April: PBKS vs RR – New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST

8 April: PBKS vs CSK – New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST

12 April: SRH vs PBKS – Hyderabad – 7:30 PM IST

15 April: PBKS vs KKR – New Chandigarh – 7:30 PM IST

18 April: RCB vs PBKS – Bengaluru – 7:30 PM IST

20 April: PBKS vs RCB – New Chandigarh – 3:30 PM IST

26 April: KKR vs PBKS – Kolkata – 7:30 PM IST

30 April: CSK vs PBKS – Chennai – 7:30 PM IST

4 May: PBKS vs LSG – Dharamshala – 7:30 PM IST

8 May: PBKS vs DC – Dharamshala – 7:30 PM IST

11 May: PBKS vs MI – Dharamshala – 3:30 PM IST

16 May: RR vs PBKS – Jaipur – 7:30 PM IST

PBKS IPL 2025 Squad: Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Arshdeep Singh (Rs. 18 crore), Shreyas Iyer (Rs. 26.75 crore), Yuzvendra Chahal (Rs. 18 crore), Marcus Stoinis (Rs. 11 crore), Glenn Maxwell (Rs. 4.20 crore), Nehal Wadhera (Rs. 4.20 crore), Harpreet Brar (Rs. 1.50 crore), Vishnu Vinod (Rs. 95 lakh), Vijaykumar Vyshak (Rs. 1.80 crore), Yash Thakur (Rs. 1.60 crore), Marco Jansen (Rs. 7 crore), Josh Inglis (Rs. 2.60 crore), Lockie Ferguson (Rs. 2 crore), Azmatullah Omarzai (Rs. 2.40 crore), Harnoor Pannu (Rs. 30 lakh), Kuldeep Sen (Rs. 80 lakh), Priyansh Arya (Rs. 3.80 crore), Aaron Hardie (Rs. 1.25 crore), Musheer Khan (Rs. 30 lakh), Suryansh Shedge (Rs. 30 lakh), Xavier Bartlett (Rs. 80 lakh), Pyla Avinash (Rs. 30 lakh), Pravin Dubey (Rs. 30 lakh).

The competition for places in the Indian team is such that one or two deserving players often miss out, no matter the series or tournament. As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the Champions Trophy and England ODIs, wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson missed out despite his exemplary average in the 50-over format. Harbhajan Singh, former India spinner, admitted being heartbroken to see Samson miss out. While the argument remains, in whose place, should Samson have been picked, Harbhajan feels space could’ve been made for the Kerala cricketer.

“Truly, I feel bad for him. He scores runs but he is dropped. I know you can only select 15, but I feel his batting suits the format. He has an average of 55-56, but he isn’t even there as a second wicketkeeper. When we talk about selecting him, people ask, in whose place? Places can be made,” Harbhajan said in a chat with Switch.

Samson isn’t the only player whose absence left Harbhajan disappointed. The former India spinner also questioned the omission of leg-spinnner Yuzvendra Chahal, who isn’t a part of India’s T20I series against England either.

“Sanju isn’t there. Yuzvendra Chahal isn’t there, too. You’ve picked four spinners, two of them are left-armers. You could’ve included a leg-spinner for variation, too. Chahal is a superb bowler. I don’t know what wrong he did that he doesn’t fit this team,” said Harbhajan.

Young opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal was picked for the ICC Champions Trophy but Harbhajan doesn’t think he would get to open or play either at No. 3 or No. 4.

“I thought Yashasvi would open, but now, I don’t feel that. Shubman Gill is the vice-captain, so he will play. And Yashasvi won’t bat at three or four, because Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer will occupy those spots,” said Harbhajan.

Arshdeep Singh made history on Wednesday night, becoming the highest Indian wicket-taker in T20I cricket in the first game against England. The left-arm seamer, still only 25 years old, achieved the record after picking up the wickets of Phil Salt and Ben Duckett in his opening spell. Those two wickets took his T20I tally to 97, one ahead of previous record-holder Yuzvendra Chahal. Speaking after the game, Arshdeep apologized to Chahal for overtaking his tally with a rather hilarious act.

In a video posted by BCCI, Arshdeep was seen holding his ears jokingly, as he apologized to Yuzvendra Chahal for breaking his record.

While Chahal took his 96 wickets in 80 games, Arshdeep has reached his tally in a rather phenomenal rate. The left-arm pacer has taken only 61 games to reach 97 wickets, at an average of only 17.90 and a strike rate of 13.03, meaning he takes up a wicket nearly every two overs.

Arshdeep set the tone for India’s dominant victory in the first T20I, ending with figures of 2/17 in four overs. Given his form and prowess in the shortest format, he is all but certain to reach the 100-wicket mark by the end of the five-match T20I series.

Arshdeep has also been selected for India in their Champions Trophy 2025 squad, and has a good chance of featuring in the playing XI given the fitness concerns surrounding Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

Chahal, however, hasn’t represented India in a T20I since August 2023, although he was part of their T20 World Cup 2024-winning squad.

The wrist spinner has put up a series of cryptic posts on Instagram in recent weeks, amid rumours of divorce from wife Dhanashree Verma.

On Wednesday, Chahal posted a picture with the caption “Real love is rare. Hi, my name is ‘Rare’.”

India take on England in the second T20I in Chennai on January 25.

Pacer Arshdeep Singh on Wednesday became India’s all-time leading wicket-taker in T20Is, surpassing leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the elite list. Arshdeep achieved the feat during the first T20I of the five-match series against England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Arshdeep was on 95 wickets heading into the series-opener, just one scalp behind Chahal (96) who is not part of the squad. However, he dismissed England openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett in the first and third over, respectively.

Arshdeep achieved the feat in just 61 T20Is, having made his debut against England in 2022.

Most wickets for India in T20Is

97 – Arshdeep Singh (61 matches)

96 – Yuzvendra Chahal (80 matches)

90 –Bhuvneshwar Kumar (87 matches)

89 –Jasprit Bumrah (70 matches)

89 –Hardik Pandya (110 matches)

Meanwhile, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami missed out on making his international comeback as India won the toss and elected to bowl first against England.

Shami was highly expected to play his international comeback game, but the wait has now extended as India opted to have a bowling line-up of Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Arshdeep Singh as fast-bowlers, while Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakaravarthy will handle the spin-bowling department.

For England, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith, Saqib Mahmood and Rehan Ahmed missed out on selection in the game at Kolkata. ” Looks a good wicket, I’m sure it’s going to be a good match. There will be some dew around. It’s a great ground, it’s an honour to play against India in these conditions.”

Playing XIs

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, and Varun Chakaravarthy.

England: Ben Duckett, Philip Salt (wk), Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, and Mark Wood

(With IANS Inputs)

Yuzvendra Chahal with Shashank Singh and Shreyas Iyer© X (Twitter)

Yuzvendra Chahal has broken his long silence after rumours on social media claimed that all was not well in his marriage with Dhanashree Verma. Earlier on Wednesday, Dhanashree broke her silence amid viral rumours of her divorce. Chahal got engaged to Dhanashree, a YouTuber, dance choreographer and dentist, who has participated in the reality show Jhalak Dheekha Ja, on August 8, 2020. The couple got married in a private ceremony on December 22, 2020 in Gurgaon. 

In a long message regarding “social media posts speculating on matters that may or may not be true”, Chahal said it has caused him and his family immense pain.

“I am grateful to all my fans for their unwavering love and support without which, I wouldn’t have come this far. But this journey is far from OVER!!! As there are still many incredible OVERS left to deliver for my country, my team, and for my fans!!! While I am proud to be a sportsman, I am also a Son, a Brother, and a Friend. I understand the curiosity surrounding recent events, particularly about my personal life. However, I have noticed certain social media posts speculating on matters that may or may not be true,” he wrote in a long post on his Instagram story.

“As a Son, a Brother and a Friend, I humbly request everyone not to indulge in these speculations, as they have caused immense pain to me and my family. My family values have taught me to always wish well for all, strive to achieve success through dedication and hard work, instead of taking shortcuts, and I remain committed to these values. With Divine Blessings, I shall forever strive to seek your love & support and not sympathy.

Earlier, Dhanashree slammed faceless trolls for spreading hate.

“The past few days have been incredibly tough for my family and me. What’s truly upsetting is the baseless writing, devoid of fact checking, and the character assassination of my reputation by faceless trolls spreading hate,” Dhanashree wrote in a long post on her Instagram story.

“I’ve worked hard for years to build my name and integrity. My silence is not a sign of weakness; but of strength. While negativity spreads easily online, it takes courage and compassion to uplift others.

“I choose to focus on my truth and move forward, holding onto my values. The truth stands tall without the need for justification.”

File photo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma© Instagram

File photo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhanashree Verma© Instagram

Dhanashree Verma and Yuzvendra Chahal have reportedly split© Instagram

File photo of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir