New Delhi: Unexpected teams are performing strongly in the IPL 2025 season defying pre-tournament predictions. The Punjab Kings despite a promising run placing them in the top four are predicted by former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary to remain without a championship win this year. Following Saturdays rain-affected no-result between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens former KKR player Aakash Chopra criticized Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Pontings team selection. Chopra argued that Ponting prioritized the underperforming Glenn Maxwell over several Indian players in the squad. Following Prabhsimran Singhs dismissal for 83 in the 15th over on Saturday commentator Aakash Chopra expressed surprise that Punjab Kings chose Glenn Maxwell who continued his poor form with a score of 7 to bat at number four instead of Nehal Wadhera a player who had previously performed well in that position for both Punjab and Mumbai Indians. Punjab Kings decision to bat Marco Jansen and Josh Inglis ahead of Shashank Singh a known finisher in the final stages of their innings despite needing a substantial score was questioned by commentator Aakash Chopra. With only 20 balls remaining and a target of over 200 runs in mind Chopra suggested Singh would have been a more suitable choice. Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary cautioned Punjab Kings head coach pointing out that prioritizing Australian players over Indian ones could jeopardize their IPL championship chances this season. My gut feeling says that Punjab team will not be able to win the #IPL trophy this season because what I saw today when they were batting was the coach didn’t send Indian inform batters Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh instead he trusted his foreign players to deliver but they couldnt and clearly showed lack of confidence in Indian players down the order. If he persists in this way then the title is far from them irrespective of their qualification in the top two he tweeted.