KKR vs PBKS, IPL 2025: Why Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders players wearing black armbands? Explained

Players of Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are wearing black armbands during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Eden Gardens on Saturday in solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

At least 26 innocent tourists lost their lives on April 22 when militants shot them in the picturesque hill station in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad players observed a minute's silence for the same.

Currently placed at seventh, its a must-win game for KKR considering the race for IPL 2025 playoffs. The defending champions, under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane, have won just three games out of eight.

On the other hand, Punjab Kings sit firmly in fifth place with five wins out of eight games. For KKR, they need to win at least five of the if they want to be in contention for the last four spot. For Punjab Kings, three wins in their last six games would be enough.

Meanwhile, in a hot and humid Kolkata, Punjab Kings won the toss and opted to bat first. The Shreyas Iyer-led side made two changes by bringing in Glenn Maxwell and Azmatullah Omarzai, replacing Marcus Stoinis and Xavier Bartlett.

KKR too made a couple of changes with Moeen Ali and Ramandeep Singh making way for Rovman Powell and Chetan Sakariya.

KKR vs PBKS playing XIs

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer(c), Josh Inglis(w), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Rovman Powell, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy

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