Kuldeep Yadav missed out as Delhi Capitals lock horns against the Punjab Kings in a must-win Indian Premier League 2026 clash at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, on Monday, May 11. Kuldeep was among the five changes DC made for their 12th game of the tournament, with their playoff chances hanging by a thread.
DC have won just four matches out of 11 they played. They suffered five defeats in their last six games as they stare down an early exit from the tournament. Meanwhile, DC have made a lot of changes for their reverse fixture against the PBKS.
Why is Kuldeep not playing in must-win game?
Kuldeep has not been in form in this IPL. He has picked up only seven wickets in the 11 matches this season and has leaked runs in crucial moments for the Capitals. He is among the five players to have been replaced for this game. After DC’s loss in their previous game to KKR, Axar had stated that the team would test its bench strength to build themselves for the next season.
Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam are the other players who are not part of the Playing XI despite playing the previous game. Nissanka, Rizvi, Ashutosh and Vipraj are part of the impact subs list, but only one of them will come into the side when DC bats second, as Vipraj will surely miss out.
PBKS make one change as Dwarshius makes his debut
Meanwhile, there is only one change for PBKS despite three losses in a row. They were forced to hand IPL debut to Ben Dwarshius, who comes in as Lockie Ferguson has a ‘slight niggle’.
“(Changes?) There are five changes, so Abhishek Porel, Sahil Parakh is playing, David Miller is playing, Auqib Nabi is playing, and Madhav Tiwari is playing,” Axar said on the changes the team made.
“Honestly speaking, I’ve got no idea how the wicket has been playing so far in the IPL unless you play on it. So whatever comes, I think you’ve got to put your best foot forward and go ahead. Ben Dwarshius comes in place of Lockie Ferguson, who has a slight niggle,” Shreyas said at the toss.