The Punjab Kings (PBKS) players are donning black armbands for their ongoing IPL 2026 match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Here is why.
Why Punjab Kings are donning black armbands against RR
PBKS all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai’s mother passed away recently, and the team is donning black armbands for the game against RR to pay their condolences to the Afghanistan international and his family. On April 27, the eve of their match against Rajasthan, the Punjab Kings tweeted a condolence message.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to Azmatullah Omarzai on the loss of his mother,” read the tweet. “The entire Punjab Kings family stands with him and his loved ones during this difficult time.”
At the match, Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer donned a black armband when he walked out for the toss. He left a message of support for the all-rounder and his family, saying at the toss:
“On behalf of the whole team, I just want to share our heartfelt condolences to Azmat and his family for his loss. I’m sure we are there to support him through thick and thin."
One of the eminent pace-bowling all-rounders, Omarzai is yet to play in this edition of the IPL.
PBKS openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya once again gave the team a flying start. After Arya fell for an 11-ball 29, Prabhsimran continued to hit a second consecutive fifty in IPL 2026. Marcus Stoinis slammed a 22-ball 62, with four boundaries and six maximums, to take the team to 222-4.
Match 40, Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals
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Playing XIs for Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal. Impact Player options: Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Xavier Bartlett, Harpreet Brar, Musheer Khan.
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Brijesh Sharma, Nandre Burger, Yash Raj Punja. Impact Player options: Ravi Bishnoi, Ravi Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Shimron Hetmyer.
