The Punjab Kings have signed Mitch Owen as a replacement for the injured Glenn Maxwell for the rest of the IPL 2025 season. Maxwell did not take the field in Punjab’s last encounter against CSK on April 30. While conducting the toss, Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer said that Maxwell was recovering from a fractured finger. He had, therefore, been declared unavailable for the remainder of IPL 2025.
Punjab has now replaced him with an uncapped all-rounder, Owen, a Tasmanian domestic player who shot to fame with a 39-ball century in the 2024/25 BBL final, for INR 3 crore. Owen has scored 646 runs at a strike rate of 185 in 34 T20 matches; no other player in T20 cricket has managed to put away more runs than Owen at a better strike rate than his. He also bowls medium pace.
Owen is presently representing Peshawar Zalmi in the ongoing season of Pakistan Super League. He has racked up 101 runs at a strike rate of 198 (though averaging a mere 16.83) and has bowled a couple of wickets in seven matches for them. Currently placed fifth in the points table, PZ may yet make it through to the playoffs, but may also find themselves missing out.
PZ still has three matches that they have to play in the league phase, which are against Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars. The Playoffs are slated for May 13, 14, 16, and 18. PBKS, on the other hand, has league fixtures for May 4 (LSG), 8 (DC), 11 (MI), and 16 (RR), with the IPL Playoffs starting on May 20, 21, 23, and 25.
According to reports, Owen is ready to join the camp of Punjab Kings after the end of PZ’s PSL 2025 season, which means that if PZ is unable to reach the Pakistan Super League Playoffs, Owen will be there in the IPL for the Playoffs as well as two league games.
