Glenn Maxwell fractured his finger during a training session ahead of the washed-out match against KKR on April 26, while Lockie Ferguson also suffered a season-ending injury.
Glenn Maxwell Likely Out of IPL 2025 with Fractured Finger, Confirms PBKS Skipper Shreyas Iyer
Punjab Kings have been dealt a significant setback as captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed at the toss that star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has suffered a fractured finger and is likely to miss the remainder of IPL 2025. “It’s very unfortunate that he’s got a fractured finger,” Iyer stated, adding that the franchise has not yet finalized a replacement for Maxwell.
“To be honest, we haven’t decided about the replacements yet so far, but we are pretty strong in our team’s mindset and what we have outside of our playing XI. We’ve got varieties of players who can win you matches. So we’re going to stick to that as much as possible,” Iyer explained.
The extent of Maxwell’s injury was also confirmed by teammate Marcus Stoinis, who revealed the incident occurred during a training session ahead of their washed-out game against KKR on April 26. “He didn’t think it was too bad, but it ended up getting pretty bad. He had scans and, yeah, the results weren’t great. So unfortunately for Maxi, I think it’s likely he’s out for the tournament,” said Stoinis.
Ricky Ponting blames PSL 2025 for delay in replacements
Head coach Ricky Ponting addressed the situation, stating, “We will be signing some replacements at some stage,” but noted that the team has time until their 12th game. “We’ve got until our 12th game, so we have a couple of games to go yet,” Ponting said, emphasizing that internal options like Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, and Xavier Bartlett are under consideration, especially with changing conditions in Dharamsala.
Ponting also highlighted the impact of the ongoing PSL 2025 in Pakistan on player availability: “With the PSL happening at the same time, there’s not a lot of high-quality replacements out there, to be honest. So we’ve just been patient.”
He added that the team is exploring Indian domestic talent as well: “We’re looking at what roles we might be able to fill with some younger Indian players. A couple of guys trained with us yesterday and will come with us to Dharamsala. We’ll have a closer look at them and they might find themselves with a Punjab contract going forward.”
PBKS have until May 8—when they play their 12th game against Delhi Capitals—to finalize replacements. Their 11th fixture, against Lucknow Super Giants, is scheduled for May 4. Both matches will take place in Dharamsala.
