Punjab Kings are one of the few teams that are yet to win a title in their journey. The Mohali-based franchise will look to sign players in a bid to bolster their unit so that they can go on to compete against top teams for the trophy. Steve Smith is one of the popular players they might target in the IPL 2025 auction.

Steve Smith was last seen playing in the IPL during the 2020 wherein he captained Rajasthan Royals. The senior pro went unsold in the upcoming seasons but there could be a distinct possibility of him returning to the IPL this time around, especially after his recent performances in the domestic T20 cricket.

PBKS need someone like Steve Smith to take the club in the right direction and let's take a quick look at the three reasons why PBKS should rope in Steve Smith at the IPL 2025 Auction.

1. Captaincy material: The Mohali-based franchise are yet to win a title since the inception of the tournament. They made it to the finals of the competition only once in their history in IPL 2014 but lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in the showdown.

It has been a decade since they qualified for the playoffs and they are in need of a proper captain. With Shikhar Dhawan retiring from the IPL, Steve Smith is a captaincy material that Punjab Kings badly need in order to have a clear shot at the prestigious prize.

Under Steve Smith’s captaincy, Washington Freedom were crowned champions after beating San Francisco Unicorns by 96 runs. Steve Smith had earlier operated as a captain of Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2014 and 2015 before replacing Ajinkya Rahane midway through IPL 2019. However, his first full season as a skipper for the Royals was in 2020.

2. Ricky Ponting-Steve Smith liaison: Ricky Ponting who worked with Delhi Capitals as a head coach parted ways with the franchise to join Punjab Kings as the new head coach. It is highly likely that the Mohali-based franchise might show a great deal of interest to recruit Steve Smith in the IPL 2025 auction.

Ricky Ponting and Steve Smith have worked together in the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024. Their partnership at MLC Washington Freedom paid rich dividends. In case the PBKS franchise manage to rope in Smith, then the Australian duo will look to replicate their MLC Washington Freedom success to Punjab Kings.

3. IPL experience: Steve Smith might be 35 years but boasts a truckload of IPL experience to his resume. Having been a part of the cash-rich IPL since 2012, he has represented multiple teams such as Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kochi Tuskers Kerala (now-defunct franchise), Pune Warriors (now-defunct franchise), Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant (now-defunct franchise).

Having made 103 appearances in the competition, the seasoned cricketer knows the tricks and trade of the competition. Overall, he has scored 2485 runs at an average of 34.5 and a strike rate of 128.11, laced with 1 century and 11 half-centuries.