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Punjab Kings (PBKS) suffered a three-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals (DC) on Monday, thus keeping their IPL 2026 playoff hopes hanging in the balance.
Hyderabad: Punjab Kings' Yuzvendra Chahal bowls a delivery during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 T20 cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings, in Hyderabad, Telangana, Wednesday, 6 May 2026. (PTI)Punjab Kings (PBKS) had got off to a strong start to their IPL 2026 campaign with six wins in their first seven matches, but they now seem to have lost their winning rhythm.
The Shreyas Iyer-led side suffered a three-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals (DC) in Dharamsala on Monday, and that was their fourth straight defeat. Punjab Kings, who were once consistently on top of the IPL 2026 standings, are now in fourth place with 13 points from 11 matches.
There is hardly any more room for error for Punjab Kings, and with teams like Chennai Super Kings (Fifth place, 12 points) and Rajasthan Royals (Sixth place, 12 points) making their case for the playoffs, the IPL 2025 runners-up cannot afford to lose any more matches.
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Captain Shreyas Iyer considered bowling Yuzvendra Chahal, but decided against it due to the seaming conditions and assistance for fast bowlers. The spin bowling coach also mentioned a spontaneous decision to continue with fast bowlers.
In 11 matches of IPL 2026, Yuzvendra Chahal had taken only eight wickets with an economy rate of 9.53. This is a contrast to his IPL 2025 performance where he took 16 wickets in 14 matches.
Yes, there was a thought about bowling spinners during a time-out, but the conditions favored fast bowlers due to the ball seaming. The decision was made to continue with pace bowlers.
Punjab Kings had lost four consecutive matches, including the one against Delhi Capitals. Despite a strong start to their IPL 2026 campaign, they were in fourth place with 13 points from 11 matches.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer cited fielding and bowling as the reasons for the loss. The team failed to defend their score, and the bowling unit was expensive, while crucial catches were dropped.
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer has come under scrutiny for making a few questionable decisions in recent matches. Yuzvendra Chahal, Punjab Kings' ₹18 crore recruit, did not bowl a single over against Delhi Capitals.
Why did Yuzvendra Chahal not bowl against the Delhi Capitals?
Iyer admitted he hadn't completely ruled out bowling Chahal. “There was absolutely a thought in my mind, but the way the ball was seaming and the way it was helping seamers, I think if we had executed our line and length precisely, we could have been able to extract wickets, but unfortunately again, we didn't,” the Mumbai cricketer said after the match.
The Haryana spinner was also seemingly underused in the game against the Gujarat Titans (GT)on 3 May, bowling just one over. He conceded 13 runs in that over and failed to take a wicket.
The Punjab Kings seamers, too, were quite expensive. Yash Thakur registered figures of 2/55 from four overs, whereas Marco Jansen registered figures of 0/45 from four overs.
Punjab Kings spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule also made a similar comment on the decision not to bowl Chahal. "Definitely, there was a thought (about bowling spinners) during the time-out, but I think the ball was seaming and the conditions were suitable for the fast bowlers.
“So I think the decision was very spontaneous to continue with the fast bowlers and see how we can get those wickets, which we did early on. But I think one partnership just took it away from us,” he said.
In 11 matches this season, the 35-year-old has taken just eight wickets at an economy rate of 9.53. This is in stark contrast to his IPL 2025 campaign with Punjab Kings, when he took 16 wickets from 14 matches at an economy rate of 9.55.
Punjab Kings haven’t won a match since beating Delhi Capitals by six wickets in the reverse fixture in Delhi on 25 April. Sairaj said that there won’t be any wholesale changes to the playing XI despite their slump in form.
“I think the team that has been doing so well, yes, we have lost a few games. We will again focus on only certain areas. There won't be any major changes in the sense that everybody has been performing. But we will definitely look into it and see how we can just turn it around for ourselves,” he said.
Punjab Kings will look to return to winning ways when they play Mumbai Indians in Dharamsala on Thursday (14 May).
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