Top 5 players to watch out for in the PBKS vs CSK IPL 2025 match

To start the campaign with a victory and drop into the depths of the points table by the time you play four matches is a downfall rarely associated with Chennai Super Kings. The team, which has dropped out of the playoffs contention only thrice in the last 17 seasons, is not playing up to their reputation in IPL 2025. The five-time champions have now lost three consecutive matches, with their fortress at Chepauk being breached twice in quick succession. The team has very few positives to note, with the entire batting order failing collectively. Pitted as low as the ninth spot on the points table, CSK needs a quick turnaround if they don't want to drop out of another playoffs after last year. Their next fixture brings them out of their home as they head to Mullanpur for the PBKS vs CSK IPL 2025 match.

Key players to watch out for in the PBKS vs CSK IPL 2025 match

Punjab Kings, with their new captain Shreyas Iyer in charge, looked unstoppable, cruising over opponents with commanding victories, until they arrived at home. PBKS lost its first match of the season as they played Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur. The side started with an 11-run victory against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad and maintained their winning momentum, clinching an 8-wicket win in the LSG vs PBKS match. However, the team that looked unbeatable, with Shreyas Iyer red-hot in form, was beaten by Rajasthan Royals.

Facing tough times in the season with only one victory in three matches, RR didn’t look like the favorites for the win in Punjab. However, as Sanju Samson returned as the captain, the team brought their A-game to the fore to beat the home side by 50 runs in the PBKS vs RR match. While the streak has been curbed early, PBKS would look to avoid piling up defeats when they meet Chennai Super Kings in yet another game at home. Currently, PBKS, with 2 wins in three matches, are perched at the fourth spot on the IPL 2025 points table.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

With multiple changes in their Playing XI over the course of four matches, CSK looks like a shadow of its past self. The team now looks in desperate need of a reliable batter other than their captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, at three. Barring the CSK vs MI campaign opener, Rachin Ravindra has struggled. Devon Conway replaced Rahul Tripathi as the other opener in the last match but couldn't make an immediate impact. While the other batters search for a way to end their collective dry spell, Ruturaj Gaikwad would hope to continue in the same vein, where he knocked a lone fighting half-century against Rajasthan Royals.

The skipper has hit two half-centuries in four innings, one in a winning cause against Mumbai Indians, and the other against RR in the match that CSK lost by 6 runs. Overall, the No. 3 batter for CSK this season, Gaikwad has accumulated 121 runs at an average of 30.25 and a strike rate of 155.12. If he, hopefully, gets a reliable partner at the other end, the batter is poised as one of the few prospects who can bring the Super Kings back to winning ways.

Khaleel Ahmed

The speedster, along with Noor Ahmad, is one of the few prospects in the season bearing impactful results for CSK. Growing as a menace in powerplays, Ahmed has scalped four wickets in the first six overs of the innings. Overall, the pacer is currently the second-highest wicket-taker for the team, behind Noor Ahmad, who currently has the Purple Cap with 10 wickets across four matches. Khaleel Ahmed, meanwhile, has picked 8 wickets across the 4 matches at an economy of 7.50. The pitch at Mullanpur, which witnessed Jofra Archer dismantling PBKS in the powerplay with a twin strike in his opening over, plays similarly in the PBKS vs CSK match. Ahmed would be vital for Chennai.

Shreyas Iyer

Barring the 12-run falter against Rajasthan Royals in his last fixture, Shreyas Iyer has taken no step wrong in the season so far. The new captain of PBKS, Shreyas Iyer, opened the campaign with an unbeaten 97-run knock against Gujarat Titans. In the next fixture, the LSG vs PBKS match, Iyer smashed another half-century, this time in a chase that Punjab won by 8 wickets. In fiery and consistent form, Iyer has scored 159 runs in three matches at a strike rate past 200.00. Moreover, the Punjab Kings captain has been dismissed only once across the three innings he has played.

Nehal Wadhera

The young gun, formerly with Mumbai Indians, arrived home when he joined Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 mega auction. The Punjab-based cricketer has quickly stamped his mark in the batting order. In the PBKS vs RR match, when the top dwindled against the attack of Jofra Archer, the young Wadhera presented the ultimate resistance in the middle. Partnering with Glenn Maxwell to stabilise the chase, Wadhera scored 62 off 41. Getting to bat in two matches, Wadhera has accumulated 105 runs, remaining unbeaten at 43 in the PBKS vs LSG match. Now at home in Mullanpur, Wadhera would be one of the key players to look out for in the PBKS vs CSK IPL 2025 match.

Arshdeep Singh

Players with the calibre of Arshdeep, capable of turning the game on its head with their spell, could not be left out of such lists. The speedster has scalped 6 wickets across the three matches in IPL 2025 so far at an economy of 9.50. In their last fixture at home, Arshdeep picked three wickets against Rajasthan Royals, announcing his arrival at the den. With PBKS vs CSK also scheduled in Mullanpur, CSK openers, already in a slump, would face a significant threat from the Punjab speedster.