IPL 2025: 3 Expensive PBKS players who gave low returns

In the auction hall of T20 cricket, every rupee is under the microscope. For Punjab Kings, IPL 2025 showed that stars and big budgets are just half the story—turning those splurges of money into reliable, match-winning output is the ultimate test. Pursuing that ever-elusive first IPL title in 2025, Punjab Kings spent big at the mega auction—only to discover that not all of their big-money recruits became match‐winners. Here are three of the costliest acquisitions of PBKS whose on-field returns didn't justify their massive price tags.

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1. Marcus Stoinis (Bought for ₹ 11 crore)

Acquired as the perfect No. 4 batsman and seam-bowling cover, Australia's Marcus Stoinis had a mouth-watering ₹ 11 crore price tag for the season. In 14 games, he scored a mere 160 runs in 11 innings at a decent strike rate of 186.05, but his average of 26.67 was not enough to cement the middle order when PBKS required him the most. As a bowler, he contributed a lone wicket from 85 balls, leaving the fans wondering if his all-round potential was actually worth the investment.

2. Glenn Maxwell (Bought for ₹ 4.20 crore)

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Nicknamed "The Big Show" for his imperial six-hitting, Maxwell rejoined Punjab for ₹ 4.20 crore. But in seven games, he scored only 48 runs in six innings—an 8.00 average and strike rate less than 100—while picking up 4 wickets with his part-time spin overs. Fighting niggles indeed truncated his rhythm, but when fit he seldom delivered the carnage his reputation threatened, reducing what might have been game-changing cameos into brief flashes of his ability.

3. Azmatullah Omarzai (Bought for ₹ 2.40 crore)

Afghanistan's talented young all-rounder joined for ₹ 2.40 crore with great expectations of astute seam bowling. What they got was a player who played 10 games but bowled in just eight, with 8 wickets at 34.88 average and 10.33 runs per over economy—numbers which rarely brought the opposition run-flow to a stop. With the bat, his five innings return consisted of just 57 runs at 14.25, so PBKS never really got the two-way contribution that they had hoped for.

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