Ricky Ponting Accused Of 'Foreigner' Bias By Ex-India Star: "Punjab Kings Will Not Win..."

Manoj Tiwary said that he believes Punjab Kings will not win the IPL 2025 title and even levelled a major allegation against head coach Ricky Ponting.

Former Indian cricket team batter Manoj Tiwary said that he believes Punjab Kings will not win the IPL 2025 title and even levelled a major allegation against head coach Ricky Ponting. During the IPL 2025 match against Kolkata Knight Riders, PBKS decided to send Glenn Maxwell at No. 4 and Marco Jansen at No. 5 after a brilliant start courtesy Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh. That meant that Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh were able to get any balls due to the change in batting order. Tiwary said that Ponting chose the foreign batters or Indian talents and the plan did not work out for them. He added that if he continues to show lack of confidence in Indian players, PBKS will not win the title this year. My gut feeling says that punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn't send Indian inform batters Nehal wadera and Shasank singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver, but they…

"My gut feeling says that punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season because what I saw today when they were batting was, the coach didn't send Indian inform batters Nehal wadera and Shasank singh, instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver, but they cudnt and clearly showed lack of confidence in Indian players down the order. If he persist in this way then the title is far from them irrespective of there qualification in top two. #KKRvsPBKS," he posted on X (formerly Twitter).

As for the match, rain played spoilsport as Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL match against Punjab Kings was called off after the visiting team posted 201 for 4 here on Saturday. Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya slammed stellar half-centuries to lay a solid opening foundation, but KKR pulled things back at the death as Punjab Kings posted 201 for 4 after PBKS opted to bat.

In reply, KKR were seven for no loss in one over when a sudden thunderstorm struck around 9.35pm, sending debris flying across the ground and even blowing the covers into the stands.

The ground staff quickly covered the pitch, but relentless rain followed, leaving no scope for a resumption of play.