Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan questioned Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy after Punjab Kings suffered a six-wicket loss against Mumbai Indians at Dharamshala in the ongoing IPL 2026 on Thursday. Pathan highlighted that Iyer delayed in giving Arshdeep Singh his final over in the innings.
Singh conceded only eight runs in his first two overs and he was given the penultimate over by Iyer when Mumbai Indians needed 28 runs to win. The left-arm seamer conceded 13 runs in the 19th over.
MI needed 50 runs off the last three overs but Marco Jansen was taken for 22 runs by Tilak Varma and Will Jacks in the 18th over.
Pathan reckons Iyer should have finished Yuzvendra Chahal’s over earlier than he did.
“They made two tactical mistakes. Could Chahal’s over have been finished earlier, and even if he was given that over, in which 20 runs came, could the line have been outside the off-stump?” the former India all-rounder said on JioHotstar.
“The next over shouldn’t have been given to Marco Jansen. Arshdeep should have been given that over. They delayed him for one over, and the momentum was lost before that over,” he added.
The former all-rounder pointed out that Tilak Varma was looking uncomfortable against Arshdeep Singh whereas Marco Jansen has been under the pump throughout the season.
“You also have to see who had troubled Tilak Varma. Arshdeep had troubled him. He had bowled a wide yorker and a slower-one bouncer. Hardly eight or nine runs had come. It means his ball was tailing, and Marco Jansen has been under slight pressure this season. That’s why he could have been delayed. That was a very crucial over,” he observed.
Xavier Bartlett was given the final over when MI needed 15 runs to win but Pathan said bowling the last over isn’t the former’s strong suit.
“This isn’t Bartlett’s area to bowl, and he was bowling there. Firstly, he missed the yorker, and then he bowled into the pitch. What worked on this pitch? When the Mumbai Indians bowled, you remained in the game as a bowling team whenever you used the pitch,” he said.
Punjab Kings will next take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Dharamshala on Sunday.
