Punjab Kings have been dealt a major blow with Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell ruled out for the rest of the IPL 2025 season after fracturing his finger. Maxwell picked up the injury during a training session before PBKS’s recent match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, which was ultimately abandoned due to rain.
Despite the setback, he played in the game and managed only 7 runs, extending his poor run of form with the bat this season. Punjab Kings confirmed the news on their social media handle – “Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of the remainder of the season due to a finger injury. We wish him a speedy recovery.”
🚨 Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of the remainder of the season due to a finger injury. We wish him a speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/2pHCxuAOoK
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) May 1, 2025
Punjab Kings coach Ricky Ponting also confirmed the news and informed that the team would soon announce the replacement. “We will be signing some replacements at some stage,” Ponting said after their latest match, adding that, “We’ve got until our 12th game, so we have a couple of games to go yet. With the squad we’ve got, we’re trying to find players from within as well.”
The PBKS coach also highlighted that the replacement would be considered based on conditions, especially in Dharamsala, where Punjab Kings will play their next two IPL games, against Lucknow Super Giants on May 4 and Delhi Capitals on May 8. Ponting further mentioned that players like Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie and Xavier Bartlett could be considered for Maxwell’s replacement.
“So we’ve actually been a little bit patient. Maxi’s only been a couple of days, Lockie’s has been two or three weeks. And 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. We’re having a look around at Indian talent as well and we’re looking at what roles we might be able to fill with some younger Indian players. We’ll actually take a couple of guys to Dharamsala with us; a couple of guys trained with us yesterday and they 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. It has to be this week, it has to be before the 12th game, so stay tuned,” Ponting said.
As per IPL regulations, teams are required to name replacements before their 12th league match. Currently sitting in second place on the points table behind Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings will be keen to make a smart replacement for Maxwell as the race for the playoffs heats up.