Former India player Mohammad Kaif expressed his surprise at Punjab Kings not opting to utilize IPL’s record wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal against the Gujarat Titans on Sunday. Chahal bowled just one over in the match, conceding 13 runs as GT won the encounter by 4 wickets.
“It surprises me to see a highest wicket taker of ipl history Yuzi Chahal bowl just one over against GT. Remember he has 228 ipl wickets in which 139 have come on the flat Chinnaswamy during his 8 years with RCB. Ok, the pitch had grass but Chahal is an IPL great he could have found ways to get wickets. Punjab needs to trust him more,” Kaif said on X.
After the match, PBKS player Suryansh Shedge, who made his maiden IPL fifty on Sunday, said the team opted to rely more on pace than spin, with the 7.5m length and two-paced surface at the Narendra Modi Stadium making strokeplay difficult.
It surprises me to see a highest wicket taker of ipl history Yuzi Chahal bowl just one over against GT. Remember he has 228 ipl wickets in which 139 have come on the flat Chinnaswamy during his 8 years with RCB. Ok, the pitch had grass but Chahal is an IPL great he could have…
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 3, 2026
“I think it all depended on the situation. We went into the game thinking we have to bowl more fast bowlers because that seven-and-a-half metre length was difficult to play. I think it was a bit two-paced because of the grass and the black soil. So I think that was the intention,” he said in the post-match press conference.
“Sometimes it was sticking, sometimes it was skidding through. So I think our bowling coach, just before the powerplay got over, he sent out a message to Vyshak saying that you should bowl that length, and you can see how well Vyshak bowled. So yeah, I think the planning was right,” he added.
Chahal has taken 228 wickets in the IPL with his best season being 2022 where he took 27 scalps. This season, he has 7 wickets in 9 matches.
On Sunday, opener Sai Sudharsan compiled a 41-ball 57 as Gujarat Titans defeated table-toppers Punjab Kings by four wickets. Sent in to bat, PBKS were reduced to 47 for 5 in the ninth over but Suryansh Shedge (57) steadied the ship with a 79-run stand off 44 balls with Marcus Stoinis (40).
However, once they departed, Punjab couldn’t get the momentum in the death overs, managing a modest 163 for nine.
In reply, Sudharsan set the platform with a 41-ball innings, while Jos Buttler (26) and Washington Sundar (40) also contributed as GT scored 167 for 6 in 19.5 overs. Arshdeep Singh (2/24) and Vijaykumar Vyshak (2/31) took two wickets each for PBKS.
