Rishabh Pant was ruled out for nearly three months after he fractured his foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
Krunal Pandya is also the first player to win 4 IPL titles -- three with Mumbai Indians and one with RCB.
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru carried off from last season with dominating performances in their opening two games of IPL 2026.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants in Dharamsala, on Sunday.
'Lately, I have been batting a lot in the nets and facing the quick bowlers, especially with the new ball, and that's given me immense confidence.'
Priyansh Arya and captain Shreyas Iyer flaunted their rich vein of form by hammering blistering centuries for India A in the first unofficial ODI against Australia A at Green Park in Kanpur on Wednesday.
Shreyas Iyer's inspiring leadership faces its toughest test yet when Punjab Kings host an equally upbeat Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League in Mullanpur on Thursday.
When Punjab Kings opted to bat, they were 39 for 1 in just 3.2 overs before they fell like nine pins and at the thick of all the action was Ramandeep Singh.
Punjab all-rounder Ramandeep Singh, who has yet to score a professional cricket century, smashed a 101-ball 111 during his state's Buchi Babu tournament match against Hyderabad on Tuesday.
"As this was his team's first offence of the season, under Article 2.22 of the IPL Code of Conduct, which pertains to minimum over-rate offences, Shreyas Iyer was fined Rs 12 Lakh," read an IPL media advisory on Thursday.
Reddy's all-round show not enough for Andhra Pradesh.
Punjab Kings maintained their momentum and added another victory to their kitty in IPL 2025 by drubbing Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
The squad also includes Punjab opener Prabhsimran Singh and Punjab pacers Siddharth Kaul and Baltej Singh.
But 2025? It's different. A seismic shift. Ricky Ponting, the architect of victory, arrives, bringing structure and ruthless ambition.
Sarfaraz fell to Manav Suthar (4-0-23-3) after a whirlwind knock laden with powerful hits down the ground which saw Mumbai stutter as they lost wickets in heaps.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Lucknow Super Giants and Punjab Kings in Lucknow on Tuesday.
It was raining sixes and fours at the Eden Gardens before the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings was called off due heavy rain and thunderstorms.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stage matches.
Skipper Shreyas made an excellent fifty to support Yuzvendra Chahal's hat-trick as Punjab Kings defeated Chennai Super Kings by four wickets in their IPL match here on Wednesday.
Rizvi, Nair power DC to six-wicket win over Punjab Kings
Ignored by the national selectors for T20 set-up, Yashasvi Jaiswal sent another stern reminder to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee with a blistering 48-ball century as defending champions Mumbai crushed Haryana by four wickets in a high-scoring Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Super League B match, in Ambi, Pune, on Sunday.
Iyer believes that luck favours the brave and that is precisely what has happened with PBKS this season as they climbed to the second spot in the 10-team league table.
'Australia is his favourite hunting ground, and now he is making his comeback after the IPL. I am really looking forward to seeing him bat in those three ODIs, and hopefully, out of those three, he gets at least two centuries for India.'
Bihar's teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged just 14, blasted an 84-ball 190 to become the youngest List-A centurion ever. His captain Sakibul Gani, then upstaged him with a 40-ball 128 not out -- the fastest List-A century by an Indian.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings, two sides chasing their first IPL title, will square off in a tantalising Qualifier 1 encounter on Thursday, May 29, 2025.
Harvinder Singh was one of India's most promising pacers in the 1990s having played three Tests and 16 ODIs.
Punjab Kings Co-Owner Preity Zinta and husband Gene Goodenough were in the stands at the Himachal Pradesh cricket association stadium as they relished the thumping win.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru raced to their first IPL final since 2016 with an eight-wicket thrashing of Punjab Kings in a lopsided Qualifier 1 match.
Placed in Group B, India A will kick off their campaign against Pakistan on October 19 at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat.
This squad is by far one of the most compact in Punjab's IPL history and with the tactical genius of Ricky Ponting at the helm, it will be a folly to write them off at any time of the competition.
A full-strength Punjab Kings will fancy their chances of securing their first top-two finish in 11 years, when they face Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
Punjab Kings spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was visibly over the moon after receiving a cherished gift from his cricketing idol - MS Dhoni's bat.
Shashank established himself as a fine finisher for Punjab Kings in the last season where he was their top run-getter with 354 runs at a strike rate of 164.65. He averaged 44.25.
Punjab Kings CEO Satish Menon ahead of the IPL Auction said that the goal of the franchise is to win the silverware in the upcoming season.
A rampant Mumbai Indians will present a stern test of character for the rattled Punjab Kings in a virtual semi-final when the two teams face-off in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Punjab Kings will look to renew their bid for a play-off berth with another commanding performance in Jaipur on Sunday against Rajasthan Royals, who have failed to rise above mediocrity despite possessing the resources this season.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have very little time to pick up the pieces after a debilitating loss as they eye a much-improved display from their batting unit in a return Indian Premier League match against in-form Punjab Kings in Mullanpur, Punjab, on Sunday.
Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill, both in strong form after their Champions Trophy triumph with India, look to lead their respective teams, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans, to IPL glory in the 2025 season.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji check out who could be the Most Valuable Player of IPL 2025 before the final.
