“He wasn’t even considered in the top 15” – Mohammad Kaif slams PBKS administration after 6-wicket loss vs MI in IPL 2026

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has slammed the Punjab Kings (PBKS) team management following their six-wicket loss to the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2026 match in Dharamsala on Thursday, May 14. The cricketer-turned-commentator credited Azmatullah Omarzai for making an immediate impact after playing his first match this season, while pointing out that the think team made him warm the bench for the first 11 games.

The remarks came after Omarzai emerged as the leading wicket-taker for Punjab, finishing with figures of 2/36. Earlier, he scored a quickfire 38 off 17 balls to help the team reach 200 after the middle order collapsed.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif said:

“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.”

After PBKS lost their fifth consecutive match this season, the 45-year-old stressed that Omarzai should have played ahead of Xavier Bartlett in the previous IPL 2026 matches. He continued:

“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.”

“It’s the management’s fault” – Mohammad Kaif slams PBKS for dropping Australian all-rounder against MI in IPL 2026

Mohammad Kaif further came out in support of Marcus Stoinis, slamming the PBKS team management for dropping him against MI in the IPL 2026 match. While adding another example of Yash Thakur, he stressed the flaws of Punjab’s team bowling department. He said in the same video:

“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.”

Notably, Stoinis was dropped after returning with figures of 1/44 in his three overs against DC. Meanwhile, Yash Thakur bagged 2/55 in his four overs in the same game.