Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings have received a big boost with Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai joining the squad ahead of IPL 2026 match vs Delhi Capitals on Monday.
Updated: May 11, 2026 12:25 PM IST
PBKS vs DC IPL 2026: Punjab Kings will look to ring in some changes in their Playing 11 to bring to an end a three-game losing streak as they look to march on towards the IPL 2026 Playoffs. Shreyas Iyer’s PBKS will move to their second home ground – the HPCA Stadium Dharamshala – as they take on Axar Patel’s Delhi Capitals in match no 55 on Monday.
The home team will be boosted by the addition of Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai in their line-up, who is now available for selection. Omarzai had left the PBKS squad last month after the tragic death of his mother.
With Omarzai’s addition, PBKS will receive much-needed balance in their line-up and they are set to add left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar as an additional spinner to back-up Yuzvendra Chahal. “I think with Harpreet, whenever he gets a game, he always performs. He hasn’t let us down at all in the last couple of years. With Azmatullah back now from Afghanistan, we have an opportunity to maybe switch things up a little bit and still carry all our fast bowling and play two spinners, but we’ll sit down and talk about that tonight,” PBKS fast bowling coach James Hopes said in the pre-match press conference on Sunday.
With Omarzai coming in, Australian pacer Xavier Bartlett will have to make way after proving to be expensive in the last few matches. The Afghan star will look to provide back-up to PBKS new ball bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen.
Axar Patel’s DC, on the other hand, could be tempted to add an extra seamer in Auqib Nabi considering the fast bowler-friendly conditions in the hills of Dharamshala in place of leg-spinner and all-rounder Vipraj Nigam. The visitors will be desperate for Australian pacer Mitchell Starc if they hope to make a late dash for the Playoffs.
“He’s a proper professional and works extremely hard. When you watch him in the nets, he’s at full tilt. It’s great for the younger players to see how top players go about their business,” DC assistant coach Ian Bell said about Mitchell Starc in the pre-match press conference in Dharamshala on Sunday.
The fire of Starc pic.twitter.com/qbTI7iIlH4
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) May 11, 2026
Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals IPL 2026 match no 55 Predicted 12
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak
Delhi Capitals: Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam/Auqib Nabi, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar
