Wikipedia - Punjab Kings

The Punjab Kings, also known as PBKS, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in New Chandigarh, Punjab, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta and Karan Paul. The team plays its home matches at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, although since the 2010 season, they have played some matches at Dharamshala and Indore. Apart from the 2014 season when they topped the league table and finished runners-up, the team has only made one other playoff appearance. The team emerged as Runner Ups in 2014 Indian Premier League when they lost the finals against Kolkata Knight Riders and, also in 2025 Indian Premier League when they lost the finals against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The franchise played in the now-defunct Champions League Twenty20 once, in 2014 when they finished as semi-finalists. The team name was changed to Punjab Kings in February 2021. In 2025 IPL auction, the franchise made the second highest-ever bid for a player in the IPL, paying 26.75 crore (US$3.2 million) for Shreyas Iyer.

History

In 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) created the cricket tournament the Indian Premier League, based on the Twenty20 format of the game. Franchises for eight cities were made available in an auction held in Mumbai on 20 February 2008. The team representing Punjab was bought by the Dabur group's Mohit Burman (46%), the Wadia group's Ness Wadia (23%), Preity Zinta (23%), and Saptarshi Dey of the Dey & Dey Group (minor stake). The group paid a total of $76 million to acquire the franchise.

As the Kings XI Punjab, the franchise's catchment areas were the regions of Kashmir, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana—evident from the letter sequence "K J H P H" in the banner of the team's old logo.

Expulsion from the IPL and return

Following the controversy surrounding the BCCI and Lalit Modi in 2010, the Indian Premier League announced on 10 October 2010 that it had terminated the franchise contracts of Kings XI Punjab and the Rajasthan Royals. The teams announced that they would take legal action to remain in the Indian Premier League. Initially, the team tried to negotiate a solution with the league, but when one could not be reached, they decided to file a legal case in the Bombay High Court. They accused the IPL of getting rid of the two teams so that when the bidding process would start for the 2012 IPL season, the contract would be given to a more lucrative bidder.

The termination order was stayed by the Bombay High Court, and the legal dispute between the BCCI and the franchise ended in 2012.

Name change

On 17 February 2021, Kings XI Punjab was renamed to Punjab Kings, ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League. Ness Wadia explained the reason for changing the franchise name was to "relook at things" and rebrand after 13 seasons of the IPL. He expressed his disappointment over the franchise for "not being able to win a title" and expected them to "start afresh" after a name change. He added that the name change had been planned two years ago and COVID-19 had just delayed the announcement.

Captains

Last updated: 4 May 2025

Player From To Matches Won Lost Tied NR Win% Best Result
Yuvraj Singh 2008 2009 29 17 12 0 0 58.62 SF (2008)
Kumar Sangakkara 2010 2010 13 3 9 1 0 23.07 5/8 (2010)
Mahela Jayawardene 2010 2010 1 0 1 0 0 0 Stand-In
Adam Gilchrist 2011 2013 34 17 17 0 0 50 5/10 (2011)
David Hussey 2012 2013 12 6 6 0 0 50 Stand-In
George Bailey 2014 2015 30 14 16 0 0 46.66 Runners-up (2014)
Virender Sehwag 2015 2015 1 0 0 1 0 0 Stand-In
David Miller 2016 2016 6 1 5 0 0 16.66 8/8 (2016 First half)
Murali Vijay 2016 2016 8 3 5 0 0 37.5 8/8 (2016 Second half)
Glenn Maxwell 2017 2017 14 7 7 0 0 50 5/8 (2017)
Ravichandran Ashwin 2018 2019 28 12 16 0 0 42.85 6/8 (2019)
KL Rahul 2020 2021 27 10 15 2 0 37.07 6/8 (2020, 2021)
Mayank Agarwal 2021 2022 14 7 7 0 0 50 6/10 (2022)
Shikhar Dhawan 2022 2024 17 6 11 0 0 35.29 8/10 (2023)
Sam Curran 2023 2024 11 5 6 0 0 45.45 Stand-In
Jitesh Sharma 2024 2024 1 0 1 0 0 0 Stand-In
Shreyas Iyer 2025 2025 17 10 5 0 1 62.5 Runners-up (2025)
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) are a prominent franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), representing the state of Punjab. Established in 2008, the team is known for its vibrant team colors of blue and orange and a passionate fan base. The Punjab Kings have a reputation for aggressive batting and dynamic gameplay, often featuring some of the top international and domestic cricketing talents. Over the years, they have been competitive in the IPL, making multiple playoff appearances and striving to clinch their first IPL title. The team is led by a dedicated coaching staff and boasts a roster of skilled players committed to bringing glory to Punjab on the cricketing stage.