Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif slammed Punjab Kings’ think tank after they suffered a six-wicket loss against Mumbai Indians at Dharamshala in the ongoing IPL 2026 on Thursday. PBKS management gave Afghanistan’s all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai his first opportunity of the season and the all-rounder was able to grab it with both hands.
The right-hander scored a crucial cameo of 38 runs off 17 balls to help PBKS propel to 200 runs. Omarzai smashed two fours and four maximums in his quickfire knock.
Furthermore, Omarzai returned with impressive figures of 2-36 in his quota of four overs. The right-arm seamer accounted for Ryan Rickelton and Sherfane Rutherford.
Kaif said on his YouTube Channel, “Azmatullah Omarzai plays several T20 leagues worldwide. He’s the backbone of the Afghanistan cricket team. He was doing a solid batting and bowling performance in ILT20 in Dubai. He came up with solid form in IPL, but he wasn’t considered even in the top 15 for PBKS this season.
“He gave just two runs in the 17th over and took a wicket. He takes wickets with the new balls, and with the bat, he played at a strike rate of 225. He’s a perfect all-rounder.”
The former UP batter said Omarzai should have played ahead of Xavier Bartlett in the previous IPL 2026 matches.
“If you had played Omarzai ahead of Bartlett, he had a lot of experience. He bowls both with the new ball and in the death overs. Bartlett is not a death over bowler.
“It’s not easy when you sit out for 1.5 months, but he showed his abilities in his very first game. If he hadn’t scored, Punjab might not have scored 200.”
Kaif also questioned PBKS for dropping Marcus Stoinis for the crucial game against MI.
“Bowling is bad. One is that they are not playing the right combination in the bowling unit. You give Stoinis wrong overs, and then you drop him. It’s not the player’s fault; it is management’s fault.
“First of all, he’s not a death overs bowler; when he got hit, you made him sit out in the next match. Yash Thakur has played only one match. He is bowling in the powerplay and 19th over against Delhi, both are tough overs.”
Punjab Kings will next take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Dharamshala on Sunday.
