17 March,2026 06:00 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sanjay Bangar (Pic: File Pic)
The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections.
Ahead of the cash-rich league, former Team India cricketer Sanjay Bangar has urged the Punjab Kings to play Harpreet Brar in every match.
"I do not think there's pressure on Yuzi as such because he bowls in the middle overs. They have released Glenn Maxwell, who gave them important overs in the powerplay. So who is going to be the powerplay spinner? That's where I think Harpreet Brar is a quality player," he said.
The former cricketer then heaped praise on Brar and explained his importance in the team.
"Do not play him just for match-ups because, when I was part of that setup, I had tremendous confidence in his abilities. Whenever he was given the ball for Punjab, he did the job. I have seen it when he was playing against RCB as well. From an RCB point of view, I always rated him very, very highly. Right-hander or left-hander does not really matter for him. So play Harpreet Brar, maybe as an impact player, but play him in every match," Bangar explained.
PBKS will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.
Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shashank Singh, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shreyas Iyer, Ben Dwarshuis, Vishnu Vinod (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsmiran Singh (WK), Harpreet Brar, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Vishal Nishad.
Gujarat Titans: Ishant Sharma, Jos Buttler (WK), Jason Holder, Jayant Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Tewatia, Luke Wood, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Shubman Gill (C), Tim Banton (WK), Yarra Prithvi Raj, Anuj Rawat, Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Arshad Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma.
(With ANI Inputs)
