New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) Former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar believes Punjab Kings (PBKS) should consider bringing back spinner Harpreet Brar for their upcoming clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after the side’s narrow defeat to Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2026 clash at Dharamshala.

Punjab Kings suffered a heartbreaking loss despite posting 200/8, as Mumbai Indians chased down the target with one ball to spare. Tilak Varma starred with an unbeaten 75, while Ryan Rickelton provided a quick start with 48 off 23 balls.

Looking ahead to Punjab’s next match against table-toppers RCB, Bangar said the afternoon conditions could help the team use two spinners effectively and bring Harpreet Brar back into the playing XI.

“I think Punjab Kings will have the opportunity to use Harpreet Brar because he has always been a quality performer, especially against RCB,” Bangar told Jio Hotstar.

The former India batting coach, who has also worked with RCB in the IPL, added that Brar has historically troubled Bengaluru’s batting line-up.

“Having been part of RCB myself, I know he has troubled several of their batters over the years,” he added.

Bangar felt Punjab have already tried most of their pace-bowling combinations this season and should now look towards spin as a better option to control opposition batters.

“It helps that the next game against RCB is a day game because Punjab can use two spinners. So far, they have explored almost all their pace-bowling options, so perhaps it is time to go back to spin and hope that becomes an effective way of containing teams,” he said.

Bangar also reflected on the Mumbai Indians’ successful chase and pointed out that Punjab still had control of the game despite slow innings from Rohit Sharma and Sherfane Rutherford.

“Shreyas Iyer used only five bowlers in this game, and there was always going to be a point when the batters targeted Bartlett. Chahal and Arshdeep had bowled extremely well until then. In a way, Punjab Kings took away their own advantage,” Bangar explained.

He also praised Tilak Varma for carrying Mumbai’s chase under pressure.

“If you look at Rohit Sharma’s innings and Rutherford’s innings combined, they scored only 45 runs off 47 balls. That meant the Mumbai Indians still needed around 150 runs in the remaining 12 overs. So, it was a terrific effort from Tilak Varma to keep the Mumbai Indians in the hunt despite those low strike-rate innings from the other batters. Overall, it was a remarkable finish to the chase,” he said.

After suffering five consecutive defeats, Punjab Kings (PBKS) face a must-win situation against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the race to qualify for the playoffs.

–IANS

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