Father: Dheeraj Punja, Mother: Shilpa Punja
Yash Raj Punja is a promising young leg-spinner from Karnataka who burst onto the IPL scene as a 19-year-old when Rajasthan Royals picked him up for INR 30 lakh ahead of the 2026 season. The tall right-arm wrist-spinner, who bowls legbreaks with a potent googly, made an immediate impact in his debut IPL campaign, featuring in eight matches and picking up nine wickets. His performances included a best of 2 for 35, showcasing his ability to trouble batters even at the highest level. Still in the early stages of his professional career, Punja represents the kind of exciting young spin talent that franchises look to develop into long-term assets, with his height and variations giving him a natural advantage on any surface.
| Bowling | |||||||||||||
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
| T20s | 2 | 2 | 48 | 66 | 3 | 2/41 | 2/41 | 22.00 | 8.25 | 16.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
He is a leg-spin bowler who bowls legbreaks with a googly variation, known for his height and ability to extract bounce from the surface.
He represents the Rajasthan Royals (RR), who picked him up for INR 30 lakh ahead of the IPL 2026 season.
He made his IPL debut on April 19, 2026, against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.
In 8 matches during the 2026 IPL season, he picked up 9 wickets with best figures of 2 for 35, maintaining an economy rate of 9.30.
He represents Karnataka in domestic cricket.
He was born on June 26, 2006, making him 19 years old.
His tall frame allows him to extract extra bounce from pitches, and his legbreak-googly combination makes him a difficult bowler to read for batters.
His best bowling figures in the IPL are 2 for 35, which he achieved against Lucknow Super Giants in Jaipur on May 19, 2026.
