Punjab Kings (PBKS) have only retained two players ahead of the IPL 2025 auction – Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh. They spent INR 5.50 crore on Shashank and INR 4 crore on Prabhsimran, spending only INR 9.50 crore.

They are the ones that have retained the fewest players and will be in the auction with the highest purse among the ten teams. They will have to fill almost all positions, but their main objective will be to find a player to lead the franchise.

According to a report by Cricbuzz, PBKS will target Steve Smith and make him their next captain to take the team forward. Perhaps it has to do with the presence of Ricky Ponting as a coach, as he has always shown his liking for the former Australian captain and also took him to Delhi Capitals (DC) in the past.

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Smith has 2485 runs at an average of 34.51 and a strike rate of 128.09, including 11 fifties and centuries, in 93 IPL innings while playing for four IPL teams in the past. His last IPL outing came while playing for Delhi Capitals (DC) during the second half of the 2021 season.

Steve Smith’s strong credentials as captain

While Steve Smith hasn’t been great as a T20 batsman, he still has strong credentials as a captain and his record is encouraging. He has played 73 leading T20 matches and won 45, with a healthy winning percentage of 61.64.

Recently, he led Washington Freedom to the 2024 Major League Cricket (MLC) title and also won the Man of the Match award in the final for his blitzkrieg knock. Previously, Smith led Rising Pune Supergiant to the final in 2017 where they fell short against Mumbai Indians (MI) by just one run.

He is tactically sound and has previous experience leading a T20 team. He may need to improve as a hitter, but that doesn’t take anything away from his superior ability to read the game well.

The Punjab Kings have struggled to find a quality leader who can take the franchise in the right direction. It won’t be surprising if reports of Smith’s takeover ultimately prove correct.

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