• Source:JND
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KKR vs PBKS IPL 2025: Ex-India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has reckoned that Punjab Kings' coaching staff lack confidence in their Indian batters and that is why they might not be able to lift the trophy this year. During their IPL 2025 match against KKR, the Punjab-based franchise had a flying start as openers Prabsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya scored gritty knocks of 83 and 69 runs.

And when they got out, the team management decided to send in foreign players like Glenn Maxwell and Marco Jansen and none of them could fire with the bat.

Due to this, the in-form Indian batters like Nehal Wadhera and Shashank didn't get a chance to bat, especially after performing brilliantly in the season till now.

And that's why Tiwary slammed the coaching staff, especially Ricky Ponting, for backing out-of-form foreign players and thus preventing the young talented local players from making significant contributions.

“My gut feeling says that Punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season," Tiwary had written on his official X account.

“Because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn’t send Indian informs batters Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver…But they couldn’t, and clearly showed a lack of confidence in Indian players down the order. If he persists in this way, then the title is far from them, irrespective of their qualification in the top two," he said.

It isn't the first time that Tiwary has slammed the Punjab-based franchise, considering his well-known history with them.

His stint with PBKS was short and ended on a bad note. Although there wasn't any disagreement between Tiwary and the franchise, the fewer chances he got during IPL 2018 and then his getting released led to the fans expressing disappointment.

After IPL 2018, the Punjab Kings released Tiwary and he then went unsold during the auctions next year, and thus his IPL career came to an end.

Except for the IPL, Tiwary played domestic cricket actively and became a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports in West Bengal.