Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting reckons his side walks into IPL 2026 in better nick than it did a year ago. The Australian points to deeper back-up, smoother balance and a couple of fresh faces – notably Cooper Connolly – as reasons to feel “stronger” after last season’s table-topping run that still fell one win short of a first title.
“We’ve got the players that we want in certain roles, but we’ve also got a back-up player for most of those players right the way down to our 25th player. So I just think overall, we should be stronger,” Ponting said on the eve of the opener against Gujarat Titans. “Our level of cricket last year was good enough for us to finish on top of the table, but that doesn’t mean anything going into a new season.”
Key facts first. PBKS kept the core of the XI that banked 19 league points in 2025, so the December auction was more about topping up than tearing down. Only three signings made the final sheet; Connolly is the headline act. The 22-year-old left-hander is pencilled in at No.3, giving a top order that already includes Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone a different tempo and angle.
Ponting likes the flexibility: “I think with someone like Cooper Connolly coming into the squad give us top order and middle order flexibility, [him] being a left-hander as well. Last year, we had Priyansh [Arya] at the top and [Nehal] Wadhera in the middle. Someone like Cooper Connolly gives us a bit more flexibility through that batting order with left-hand-right-hand, if we decide to go that way.”
The Connolly punt is also a nod towards conditions. Ponting – who spent part of the winter in Mohali looking at practice strips – accepts the surface can bounce early in the tournament before slowing right down. “It’s nil-nil now for everybody,” he reminded. “We need to start well tomorrow, we need to play well at our home ground, but I honestly feel that we’ve got a better squad than we had last year.”
Josh Inglis’ late-tournament hitting was crucial in 2025, and replacing those innings is one of the obvious question marks. The coach isn’t pretending it’s solved, yet he reels off options quickly enough: “We’ve got others as well that we can use up there. Suryansh [Shedge], he might move up there, play a similar role. But we’ve got those two overseas guys there, Cooper Connolly and Mitch Owen, that I’ve seen be ultra destructive at the top of the order for their respective BBL teams over the last couple of years.”
Ponting then adds the pitch caveat: “It might even be down to what the wicket looks like. If it looks like it’s got a little bit of grass on it and might have good pace and bounce, that might make it that little bit easier for the overseas guys. If it’s a bit drier and lower and slower, it might make it easier for an Indian player to play in that role.”
On paper PBKS have most bases covered: two high-quality wrist-spinners in Rahul Chahar and Adil Rashid, seam variety via Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada and the emerging Vidwath Kaverappa, plus a middle order that can shuffle left-right without losing firepower. The only real void last term was finishing consistency, and the coaching group hopes extra reps for Nehal Wadhera and Abhishek Sharma will close that gap.
Former India opener Abhinav Mukund, speaking on a television panel, summed it up neatly: “Punjab were within one over of lifting the trophy; you don’t rip that up. You just add a piece or two.” Analyst Gaurav Sundararaman chimed in, noting Connolly’s strike rate of 160 in the Big Bash against spin – handy given the trend of slow, turning pitches once April sets in.
Nothing is won in March, of course. Ponting knows that better than most; he lost two IPL finals as a player. Yet there is a calm confidence around the squad. Training on Friday finished with a gentle fielding drill rather than the usual slog-fest. A small thing, but the sort of tweak a team makes when it trusts its groundwork.
Whether that translates into silverware, we’ll find out over the next two months. For now, PBKS start 2026 looking, on balance, a shade stronger than last year – exactly as their coach suggests.
