Why is Azmatullah Omarzai Not in First-Choice Punjab Kings Playing XI for IPL 2025?

Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai does not feature in Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) playing XI for Tuesday’s 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Lucknow.

Azmatullah Omarzai is dropped from the Punjab Kings playing XI after playing just one match, which was the team’s season opener against Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 25. Omarzai had registered figures of 0/29 and scored 16 runs in that match.

LSG vs PBKS Playing XI

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Playing XI: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) Playing XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh.

Azmatullah Omarzai not in playing XI for LSG vs PBKS match

Azmatullah Omarzai is not part of Punjab Kings playing XI as New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson plays his first match of the season. Ferguson had missed Punjab Kings’ match against Gujarat Titans due to a foot injury he sustained during the Pakistan vs New Zealand clash in the 2025 Champions Trophy in February. He has recovered from the injury and thus features in the Punjab Kings playing XI against Lucknow Super Giants.

Another reason for Azmatullah Omarzai’s omission is because Punjab Kings already have plenty of all-rounders in the playing XI. In the current playing XI against Lucknow Super Giants, Punjab Kings have Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh and Suryansh Shedge as their all-rounders. As a result, the Punjab Kings were probably looking to balance between all-rounders, batters and bowlers.

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Punjab Kings had defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) in their IPL 2025 opener by 11 runs. Captain Shreyas Iyer led from the front with an unbeaten 97 as Punjab Kings posted a mammoth total of 243/5. In reply, Gujarat Titans could only manage a total of 232/5, with fifties from Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler going in vain. Punjab Kings have never won the IPL till date. The reached the final of IPL 2014 where they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

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