IPL 2025: ‘Defensive mindset, not enough googlies..’ Yuzvendra Chahal criticised for poor form with Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings have had a topsy-turvy season so far as they sit sixth on the table with 6 points to their name. The team started the Indian Premier League season strongly with consecutive wins but have alternated between losses and wins in the three matches after.

While their batting has been fairly strong, with skipper Shreyas Iyer leading from the front with three half centuries and Priyansh Arya scoring a devastating century against the Chennai Super Kings, the team has been poor with the ball.

Chief amongst their worrying performers is leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. PBKS pulled out all the stops to bring the Indian veteran to the squad by splashing out ₹18 crore for him at the auction but his returns have not justified the price tag.

In the five matches he has played so far, Chahal has only two scalps to his name at an expensive economy rate of 11.13. Add to the ineffective bowling, Chahal has also been suspect on the field dropping a catches at crucial moments in the five matches.

His performances have garnered the wrath of social media fans and he has also come in for criticism from analysts too. Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer, who is doing media duties for ESPNcricinfo, feels Chahal has been defensive and looks ‘off-colour’.

Too defensive

Speaking during a pre-match show, he said: “I think the few deliveries he bowled, when he picked up Travis Head’s wicket, I think that is what we need to see Chahal bowl more often. Looking to spin the ball, looking to bowl googlies and looking to put some revs on the ball, which I think we are missing from watching Yuzi.

“He is very defensive in his mindset and the pressure is pretty much visible on his face that he is off-colour.”

Also in the debate was former India leg spinner Piyush Chawla, who echoed Jaffer’s sentiment.

“We have not seen him bowl googlies also. If you are bowling wide outside off-stump for them, then it is going away from them. So, you eventually get a chance to pick a wicket or something like that, but he did not bowl those, maybe because of lack of form if you see this season,” Chawla said.

PBKS leaking runs

After PBKS slumped to their second defeat in the high-scoring encounter at Sunrisers Hyderabad, their spin coach Sunil Joshi lamented the missed opportunities.

“I think the positive to take away from this match is that our batters are definitely in great form. The bowling, however, needs to improve, and we need to increase our dot-ball percentage. That’s what we missed while bowling today on this wicket.

“On a good wicket, the only difference could be the dot-ball percentage in the middle overs. So that’s the key, and we couldn’t latch on to half of the chances,” Joshi said after the match, which PBKS lost despite putting up a mammoth 245/6 in the first innings.

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