"Punjab have had 3 homes this year" - Aakash Chopra on PBKS ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs RR

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that the Punjab Kings (PBKS) will end up playing their IPL 2025 home games in three venues. He pointed out that the franchise has already played home matches in Mullanpur and Dharamsala, and will have Jaipur as their new home ground.

PBKS will lock horns with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 59 of IPL 2025 in Jaipur in the afternoon game on Sunday, May 18. With 15 points from 11 games, Shreyas Iyer and company are placed third in the standings, and a win in Sunday's game will help them join the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the top of the points table.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener observed that although PBKS were anyway supposed to play RR in Jaipur, they will also play their home games against the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the same venue.

"Interestingly, this is Punjab's new home. So Punjab have had three homes this year. One was New Chandigarh, then Dharamsala, and they will have to make the Jaipur ground their home because they are not returning to Dharamsala or New Chandigarh. They will play all three of their remaining games here. Of course, the RR one was an away game," he said (10:55).

Chopra added that PBKS will have to get acclimatized to the conditions in Jaipur, especially since the venue hasn't generally suited the batters.

"So that had to happen here, but their matches against Mumbai and Delhi will also be played here. So they will have to befriend this ground a little. This ground has generally not been that good for batting, especially if we leave aside Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Apart from that, all the matches, especially the afternoon ones, have been slightly low-scoring," he observed.

Aakash Chopra noted that the ball generally stays low at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, recalling that it stayed extremely low in RR's IPL 2025 clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He added that PBKS like pitches where the ball comes nicely onto the bat because they like to play fast-paced cricket.

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"Josh Inglis and Stoinis' availability is still not known" - Aakash Chopra on PBKS' overseas player issues ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs RR

Marcus Stoinis (left) and Josh Inglis (right) haven't yet joined the PBKS squad. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the Punjab Kings will potentially be without Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis' services in Sunday's game.

"Josh Inglis and Stoinis' availability is still not known. I was reading somewhere, it's again unverified sources, that they aren't available for this match, but both would be available for the two matches after that. They have already taken Kyle Jamieson in place of Lockie Ferguson," he said (11:55).

The cricketer-turned-commentator urged PBKS to include Kyle Jamieson in their playing combination.

"I feel they can play Kyle Jamieson. They were playing Azmatullah Omarzai in Dharamsala. I am saying play Kyle Jamieson because Marco Jansen will go as soon as the playoffs come, and Kyle Jamieson will remain. He is a tall bowler and hits the deck hard. He might get help from this pitch, and he also bats well. You also want to prepare for the future," Chopra reasoned.

Aakash Chopra opined that the Punjab Kings might play Harpreet Brar ahead of Vyshak Vijaykumar. He added that it will be a homecoming of sorts for Yuzvendra Chahal, as he will be returning to his former franchise's home ground.