Bangar's Bold Call: Play Harpreet Brar in Every PBKS Match for IPL 2026

Punjab Kings, the 2025 runners-up, will be starting off their season against the Gujarat Titans on March 31 at New Chandigarh. In 49 matches for PBKS since 2019, he has taken 35 wickets at an average of 31.00, with a four-wicket haul to his name. Last season was his best season by far, taking 10 wickets in eight matches at an average of 19.00 and an economy rate of 8.63, with best figures of 3/22.

Speaking on JioHotstar's 'Game Plan - Know Your Team', JioStar expert Bangar said that Yuzvendra Chahal would be bowling the middle-overs, and in the absence of Glenn Maxwell, the Aussie all-rounder who was released after a poor last season, Brar could give his side some useful overs in the powerplay. He pointed out that when he was a part of the PBKS coaching set-up, he had "tremendous confidence" in Brar, a slow left-arm orthodox spinner who has 102 wickets in 105 T20S at an average of 23.79, including four four-wicket hauls.

"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. 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," he said.

Brar is coming after a solid domestic run for Punjab, taking 23 wickets in four matches at an average of 21.26, with two five-fors for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy, getting best figures of 6/38. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the country's premier state-level T20 competition, Brar took 15 wickets in nine matches at an average of 15.73 and an economy rate of 8.13, with a four-wicket haul to his name. He also made a few Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) appearances for Punjab, taking just one wicket in four matches.

Bangar also spoke on the importance of Punjab's opening pair, consisting of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, who both had a breakout IPL season last year, with Priyansh scoring 475 runs in 17 innings at a SR of over 179, including a century and two fifties, while Prabhsimran made 549 runs in 17 matches at a strike rate of over 160, with four fifties.

The former Indian all-rounder expressed concern about how Priyansh will start off the season after a relatively quiet domestic season with Delhi. In eight VHT matches for Delhi, he scored a fine 344 runs in eight innings at an average of 49.14, with a strike rate of 163.80, including four fifties. In two appearances for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy, he made 131 runs in three matches at an average of 43.67, with a best score of 82. However, it was his SMAT season which let fans down, scoring just 197 runs in seven innings at an average of 28.14, with a strike rate of over 155, with just one fifty to his name.

Bangar pointed out how Priyansh will have to deal with the expectations of carrying the top-order and reduce their side's reliance on overseas players.

"Prabhsimran Singh has been around for many years now. He has got a hundred in the IPL as well, a couple of seasons ago, and has been playing regularly for Punjab. Punjab has persisted with him. He was one of their retentions as an uncapped player as well. So I do not think the second-season blues (to have a second successive strong season) are there for Prabhsimran," he said.

"But Priyansh Arya, what a find he was for Punjab Kings. It was his batting which made sure that Punjab never looked to use their overseas top-order batter, and that is the reason I feel there could be a little bit of mystery around how Priyansh Arya copes with these expectations, because, so far in domestic cricket, I think he had a quiet season. We will have to see how he starts the season. If he starts the season really well, then I do not think it is going to be an issue, but if he has a run of low scores, then there could be some question marks about that opening combination," he concluded.

Punjab Kings Full Squad for IPL 2026: Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Cooper Connolly (Rs 3 Cr), Pravin Dubey (Rs 30 lakh), Vishal Nishad (Rs 30 lakh), Ben Dwarshuis (Rs 4.40 Cr).

- ANI