After finishing runners-up in the last season, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be hoping to go the distance this time around in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) season. They built a formidable side, having retained most of their players ahead of the auction, making a few strategic additions to cover all their bases and add more depth to their roster.
Given the squad PBKS have built, their all-rounders will once again play a big role like the previous edition and they have quite a few options to choose from – including overseas and Indian, across youth and experience.
Let’s take a look at the all-rounders who can feature in the PBKS Best XI
The Proteas all-rounder is an automatic pick in the PBKS lineup, adding balance alongside his utility with both the bat and the ball. He is also in stellar form and was one of the top performers for South Africa in their recent tour of the subcontinent.
Jansen delivered across departments in all three formats. He was the second-highest wicket-taker in the two-match Test series, taking 12 wickets and scoring 106 runs, including a 93 where he narrowly missed out on a ton. In the ODI leg also, he scored a fifty and took four wickets in three games while adding another three scalps and 28 runs in the T20Is.
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After Glenn Maxwell’s dismal last season, PBKS was forced to release the veteran Aussie all-rounder ahead of the retention deadline. However, they managed to rope in a young exciting talent in the spin all-rounder role in Cooper Connolly.
The 22-year-old has looked in good form in the BBL so far, scoring 136 runs and hitting fifties in both games. He was impressive during the home India ODI series as well, contributing with a fifty. Like Maxwell, Connolly is also an Aussie and PBKS will hope that the youngster can replicate his success in IPL too.
Punjab can slot in a third all-rounder in PBKS best XI, which will be a toss-up between Marcus Stoinis and Azmatullah Omarzai. Both players made key contributions last season – Stoinis more with the bat and Omarzai with the ball, and they will be shouldering expectations once again in IPL 2026 season. The call on who will feature in the lineup will depend on conditions and the respective matchups of the opponents they are up against.
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