As Punjab Kings (PBKS) look set to secure a playoff spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for the first time since 2014, owner Preity Zinta praised the team but also appeared to take a dig at former captains, including KL Rahul.
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Under the able leadership of Shreyas Iyer, PBKS seem to have received a fresh injection of energy, as the Punjab-based franchise are flying high and are tipped to be one of the favourites for the title.
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This season has seen a massive turnaround, as PBKS sit third in the table with 15 points to their name. They have won seven out of their 11 matches and lost just three so far.
The last time PBKS qualified for the playoffs in 2014, they finished as the runners-up of the tournament, losing to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final by 3 wickets.
Zinta made the interesting revelation during a chat on X (formerly twitter) where she was answering questions from cricket fans and her followers
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What did Preity Zinta say about PBKS in IPL 2025?
During the Q&A session, one of the users asked her the possible reason for this season's success compared to the previous years' dissapointments.
Zinta answered that although Punjab had a well-drilled team over the years, they lacked someone with good leadership skills, which they now have in the form of Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting.
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She tweeted, saying: "I think every year we’ve had a good team, but we’ve lacked good leadership, so a good strategic Captain has made a big difference, and of course our coach Ricky Ponting has also made a big difference."
She further mentioned that her team lacked the essential synergy between the captain and the coach over the years, while crediting them for creating a vibrant environment for the players to thrive.
"We’ve also had good coaches in the past, but the synergy between Captain and Coach was very important, which we lacked over the years. So Full credit goes to our cricket operations team, our coach, and our captain for creating a wonderful environment for all the players to thrive."
Check out the tweet below:
I think every year we’ve had a good team, but we’ve lacked good leadership so a good strategic Captain has made a big difference, and of course our coach Ricky Ponting has also made a big difference. We’ve also had good coaches in the past, but the synergy between Captain and… https://t.co/ZvOfasIcGl
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) May 13, 2025
Did Preity Zinta take a dig at former Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul?
Many have speculated Zinta's comments to be a subtle dig at the Indian wicketkeeper KL Rahul, who led the side from 2020 to 2021. Punjab finished in 6th position in the points table in both seasons, thus failing to qualify for the playoffs on both occasions.
She feels that the strategic planning was slightly missing all these years, which finally seems to have fallen in place with a change in administration at the top. Punjab, this season, have once again shown how a tactically well-versed captain and a coach, with a good environment, can do wonders for a team's morale and success.
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