Rishabh Pant Said He Didn’t Want To Join PBKS, Franchise Finally Sends Brutal “Tension” Reply

Punjab Kings (PBKS) convincingly beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their IPL 2025 clash, with their captain Shreyas Iyer slamming a half-century. PBKS wasted no time taking to social media to celebrate Iyer and also took a subtle dig at LSG captain Rishabh Pant. After being bought for Rs 27 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction, Pant expressed relief about not being bought by Punjab Kings. Now, PBKS punched back at Pant with a post on social media, asserting how all of their worries got over in the auction itself.

Mera ek hi tension tha, wo tha Punjab (I had only one tension, which was getting picked by Punjab),” Rishabh Pant had told JioStar after being unveiled as LSG’s captain.

Now, Punjab Kings have hit back at Pant with a jibe of their own.

“Tension toh auction mein hi khatam ho gayi thi (Our tension was over at the auction)!” tweeted out Punjab Kings, via their X handle, with a video of Shreyas Iyer.

It comes across as a subtle reference to PBKS choosing to buy Shreyas Iyer over Rishabh Pant at the auction table.

Iyer was bought for Rs 26.75 crore by Punjab Kings at the IPL 2025 mega auction, briefly making him the most-expensive player in IPL history, before LSG smashed it by paying Rs 27 crore for Pant.

Iyer has led PBKS to successive wins at the start of IPL 2025, which sees them at second spot in the league table after their win over LSG.

Iyer has also experienced contrasting form to Pant. Pant has struggled heavily with the bat, scoring a duck, 15 and 2 in his first three games for LSG. On the other hand, Iyer has already amassed 149 runs in his first two games for PBKS, and is yet to be dismissed.

Iyer slammed an incredible unbeaten 97 to help PBKS post a big total of 243 in their first match against Gujarat Titans (GT).

Against LSG, Iyer played a superb knock, once again staying not out as PBKS chased down 172 with 3.4 overs to spare. Iyer slammed 52 off just 30 balls to help Punjab Kings to a convincing victory.

It continues a remarkable streak with the bat for Shreyas Iyer. He had captained KKR to the IPL 2024 title, and did not get out on a single occasion while chasing. He had also led domestic team Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and was India’s leading run-scorer in the Champions Trophy 2025.