Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra shared his surprise after Punjab Kings continued to back Glenn Maxwell despite his low returns in the ongoing IPL 2025. The Australian all-rounder’s horrid form with the bat continued as he was bamboozled by a googly from Varun Chakaravathy after scoring only seven runs at New Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Maxwell has managed 41 runs in five innings of the tournament at an average of 8.20 and a strike rate of 100. However, the off-spinner did a good job with the ball, returning with 1-5 in the two overs he bowled after accounting for KKR vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer.
Chopra was also surprised that PBKS decided to bat first after winning the toss against KKR.
“PBKS decided to bat first after winning the toss, and I said – Why? You were coming after getting nearly 250 runs chased in the previous match. You didn’t have Lockie Ferguson as well. So you played Xavier Bartlett. You came to bat, and it seemed you were riding a flying horse. They thought they would start in New Chandigarh from where they left in Hyderabad,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“However, runs weren’t scored. Wickets kept falling, and they posted a 111-run total. By the way, Marcus Stoinis was dropped, and wasn’t unfit or unavailable. I got that news. They played Maxi and Josh Inglis. It’s slightly surprising who you are choosing. Maxi is playing as a bowler who can bat a bit because he isn’t scoring runs. That has been a problem,” he added.
The renowned commentator said he believed PBKS would struggle if the openers added less than 40 runs. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh added 39 runs but the team was skittled out for a mundane score of 111.
“If you see Kolkata’s bowling, Harshit Rana picked up wickets as soon as he was introduced into the attack, although a 39-run opening partnership had happened. I believed this team would struggle if the opening partnership was going to be less than 40 runs, and as it happened, they made 39 and were bundled out for 111,” he said in the same video.
Chopra noted that the Australian duo of Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell played poor shots against the spinners.
“They surrendered against spin. The kind of shot Josh Inglis played, and after that, Glenn Maxwell was unable to read length. Wickets kept falling. There was no reprieve. There was no way to come out unscathed from there,” Chopra observed.
Punjab Kings will next take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Friday.
