Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting has issued a warning for their IPL opponents. Based on his interaction with the media ahead of IPL 2025, Punjab will be firing on all cylinders from the first match when they take on Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad on March 25.

"There's no pressure on us. What have we got to lose," Ponting told mediapersons. "We're going to go out and play a really dynamic and entertaining brand of cricket, and I know I have the players that can do that.

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"I can't wait for the first game to come around. I know when we get to Ahmedabad and when we're facing GT in the first game, you'll see 11 Kings XI players that are determined, daring, dynamic and most importantly, destructive," said the legendary Australian.

Punjab, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals are the three original franchises without IPL titles. Punjab's best finish was being runners-up in 2014, but since then they have not qualified for the playoffs. With the arrival of Ponting and IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer, the Mohali-based franchise will be hoping to end their drought.

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Ponting knows what is the most essential thing to achieve that. "If you're not winning the games at home, you're not winning the IPL. We won most games away from home last season. One of the challenges we have is understanding the home conditions and playing accordingly."

Ponting, Australia's multiple World Cup-winning captain, exerted his influence right from the IPL Mega Auction. Punjab were the richest franchise at the auction, with a purse of Rs 110.5 crore, having retained just two local stars, Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh.

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Punjab came out securing a bunch of top players, namely Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Lockie Ferguson and Azmatullah Omarzai, among others. Kerala batter Vishnu Vishnu, signed for Rs 95 lakh, is one of the uncapped players expected to have a good season under Ponting's guidance.

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