New Delhi: In a major injury blow for Punjab Kings, star Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was on Thursday ruled out of the remainder of the tournament due to a fractured finger. The Punjab-based franchise announced the news of Maxwell’s injury status on social media.
“Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of the remainder of the season due to a finger injury. We wish him a speedy recovery,” PBKS posted on their social media handle.
The Australian all-rounder injured his finger before PBKS’ washed-out game against Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite the injury, Maxwell participated in the fixture and was dismissed for 7.
He was replaced by Suryansh Shedge in Wednesday’s clash against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai, where PBKS won by four wickets.
Maxwell’s Australian compatriot and PBKS teammate Marcus Stoinis on Wednesday revealed that the explosive batter suffered the injury in training ahead of the KKR match, but didn’t think it was too bad. However, as soon as the scans revealed the extent of injury, Maxwell’s campaign was over.
Maxwell injury a blessing in disguise for PBKS?
Maxwell’s departure could prove to be a blessing in disguise for his team’s chances in IPL 2025. PBKS can now replace the Aussie star, who has endured a horrendous season with countless underwhelming performances. In a forgettable edition, Maxwell has managed to score just 48 runs in seven matches at a dismal average of eight while taking four wickets.
Punjab head coach Ricky Ponting has revealed that the franchise is currently searching for a suitable replacement for Maxwell.
“We will be signing some replacements at some stage,” Ponting said in the press conference after the win against CSK.
“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 in our squad anyway. So we’ve got Azmatullah (Omarzai), Aaron Hardie who hasn’t played yet, Xavier Bartlett who didn’t play today.
Ponting said the team is closely monitoring the progress of the Indian talent pool as the international options are limited due to other ongoing leagues.
“…there’s not a lot of high quality replacements out there to be honest. So we’ve just been patient,” he said.
After being released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the auction pool, Maxwell was signed by PBKS for Rs 4.2 crore in the mega-auction in November.
IPL 2025: The Australian all-rounder, who injured his finger before PBKS’ washed-out game against Kolkata Knight Riders last weekend, is out of the tournament. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
