Maxwell, Omarzai To Be Dropped? Ex-MI Hitter In; PBKS Strongest Playing XI vs LSG

Soumyajit Dutta

Glenn Maxwell and Nehal Wadhera [Source: @Cric_Naveen/X]Glenn Maxwell and Nehal Wadhera [Source: @Cric_Naveen/X]

Punjab Kings will be having their second game of the tournament against the Lucknow Super Giants on April 1 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Punjab started dominatingly against Gujarat Titans and would like to continue the momentum as they eye their maiden IPL title win.

Shreyas Iyer, the new skipper of the franchise played a captain's knock in the match against Titans to overpower the batting lineup. Kings' batting attack tried and reached close to the massive total of 243 but fell short of 11 runs. While the Kings ticked all the departments. 

There were a few players who could have been better with their game which would have ensured a more secure victory by a larger margin.

PBKS XI In Last Match vs GT

Before proceeding, let's have a look at PBKS' playing XI for the opening encounter against GT. 

Shreyas Iyer, Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Priyansh Arya
Impact Player - Vyshak Vijaykumar.

Expected Changes In PBKS' XI

Maxwell To Lose Spot

Glenn Maxwell had his homecoming in Punjab Kings this year but didn't live up to the expectations as he was dismissed for a duck in the opening match. It effectively hollowed Kings' middle order attack and a more reliable and sturdy hitter should replace him at the place. 

Nehal Wadhera, a promising young talent and Mumbai Indians' middle-order hitter in 2024 might be a good option as he boasts good figures in middle-order hitting with an average of 45.

Criterion
Data
Innings12
Runs270
Average45
Strike Rate141.4

Table - Nehal Wadhera's stats in Middle Overs in IPL

Aaron Hardie Replaces Azmatullah Omarzai 

Azmatullah Omarzai has been very expensive in the last match giving out 29 runs in his 2 overs without a wicket. With the bat too, he didn't make a statement and therefore, it calls for an opportunity to give Aaron Hardie a chance. 

Criterion
Data
Matches
69
Wickets41
Economy Rate
8.68
Runs
1,461
Batting Strike Rate130.6
Batting Average26.1

Table - Aaron Hardie stats for T20s

Hardie, the all-rounder, boasts a decent strike rate and an average of 26.1 in T20s. With the ball too, he shares a strike rate of 19 and has picked 41 wickets in 52 innings. Hence, he can be a good option as a like-for-like swap in the overseas department.

PBKS' Probable XI vs LSG

Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer, Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Suryansh Shedge, Aaron Hardie, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal


Impact Players - VyshakVijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Vishnu Vinod, Kuldeep Sen