Is Marcus Stoinis playing today's RCB vs PBKS IPL 2025 match?

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have picked all-rounder Marcus Stoinis in their playing XI for today's IPL 2025 match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Stoinis was surprisingly dropped for PBKS' previous match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Mullanpur. The hosts went with Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett as their four overseas players in the playing XI.

Speaking at the toss for the Bengaluru vs Punjab IPL 2025 match, PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer confirmed Stoinis' inclusion in the playing XI, replacing fellow Aussie Maxwell. Apart from Stoinis, Harpreet Brar also finds a place in the starting XI. In four innings in the ongoing T20 league, Australian all-rounder Stoinis has scored 59 runs at a strike rate of 147.50. With the ball, he is yet to pick up a wicket.

After registering 20, 1 and 4 in his first three visits to the crease, the right-handed batter clubbed 34* off 11 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Stoinis slammed one four and four sixes in his knock as PBKS put up 245-6 batting first. His effort, however, went in vain as SRH chased down the total in 18.3 overs.

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Marcus Stoinis needs 13 runs to complete 6,500 runs in T20 cricket

Stoinis, who is a highly experienced T20 campaigner, is on the verge of a significant batting landmark. He needs 13 runs to complete 6,500 runs in his T20 career. The 35-year-old has played 312 matches (283 innings) in which he has scored 6,487 runs at an average of 29.89 and a strike rate of 137.37, with the aid of two hundreds and 34 half-centuries.

With his medium pace, the all-rounder has claimed 158 wickets at an average of 26.98 and an economy rate of 9.03, with five four-wicket hauls and a best of 4-15. Looking at his IPL career, Stoinis has played 101 matches (for four franchises) and has scored 1,925 runs at an average of 27.89 and a strike rate of 142.17. With the ball, he has picked up 43 scalps, averaging 32.18 and an economy rate of 9.64.

The versatile Australian cricketer announced a short retirement from ODI cricket in February this year after being named in the Champions Trophy. He played 71 one-dayers for Australia, scoring 1,495 runs and claiming 48 wickets.