‘If he had been brought in there, things might have been different’ – Irfan Pathan questions Purple Cap winner’s utilization in PBKS vs GT clash

Gujarat Titans (GT) didn’t get off to an ideal start in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) as they lost their opening game to Punjab Kings (PBKS) by three wickets at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Tuesday, March 31.

After being asked to bat first, the Titans posted 162/6 on a tricky surface. In reply, the Punjab Kings overcame a middle-order collapse to win the match with three wickets and five balls to spare.

During a discussion on JioHotstar, Pathan opined that Gujarat Titans’ skipper Shubman Gill missed a trick by not introducing Prasidh Krishna into the attack earlier. The right-arm pacer dismissed Shreyas Iyer in the 13th over and took the wickets of Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis in the 14th to bring his team back into the game.

“He could have been brought in earlier for sure because of the way he made an impact with his first ball itself. You allowed the game to drift a little. Every team has a game plan for sure. Seeing Prasidh Krishna, it seems like he is a middle-overs enforcer for Gujarat,” the former India all-rounder responded.

“However, coming in the 13th over was two overs late in my opinion. As soon as the ninth or 10th over’s time came, if he had been brought in there, things might have been different,” he added.

Krishna finished with exemplary figures of 3/29 in his four-over spell. However, the visitors ended up on the losing side against last year’s finalists.

He started from where he ended last season: Pathan on Krishna

The cricketer-turned-commentator lauded the Karnataka speedster for carrying the form he showed during IPL 2025 into the ongoing season.

“He bowled extremely well. He started from where he ended last season. He was the Purple Cap winner. You will see him using the length very well. He used to try a lot to bowl full earlier, but you will see a mixture here. You will see the four to six-meter length when he bowls the slower ones. He uses the hard length,” he said.

The 2007 T20 World Cup winner also added that Krishna has added variations to his repertoire, which have helped him bamboozle batters since the start of last season.

“He will set the batters there and push them back by using bouncers. The mixture and the control he has on his action, the ability is seen now. It felt good seeing him bowl regularly. He didn’t even use the yorker much. He can use that as well. So, overall, he looked like an extremely improved bowler,” Pathan observed.