When the 2026 season kicks off on March 28, Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab will once again begin their fight for the maiden Indian Premier League title. Despite nearly two decades of competition, the two teams have yet to lift a trophy. former indian allrounder Irrfan PathanPlayers representing both teams reflect on their journeys and highlight the key reasons behind their lengthy title droughts. Speaking on JioStar, Pathan noted that Delhi faced difficulties in identifying talent in the early 2010s, which hampered their progress. “When I was at Delhi, Eric Simmons was the coach and he is now bowling coach at CSK and he tried to bring stability. But when you drop a player like this AB de Villiersand Andre Russell, starting from scratch is not easy. I played in the same locker room with Russell and there was a lot of talk about giving him more opportunities, but they just couldn’t find a consistent spot for him in the starting lineup. So, identifying talent is very important and I feel Delhi have not done enough of that in the past. ” Pathan said. Punjab, on the other hand, have shown signs of improvement in recent seasons. Team makes big changes ahead of IPL 2025, names Australia’s great players Ricky Ponting as head coach and signed Shreyas Iyer 26.75 million rupees. The team performed strongly and reached the finals, but lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Pathan attributes Punjab’s revival to improved leadership and strategic planning. “Leadership has played a huge role in Punjab’s turnaround. You win half the IPL at the auction table. Big bonuses don’t necessarily mean you always get what you want, but they did and they made it to the final. Even in small auctions, they made bold but important decisions like letting go of underperforming players like Glenn Maxwell,” he explained. He also mentioned the Josh Inglis situation, noting how the situation affects their plans. “They’re a little bit unlucky with the Josh Inglis situation because he’s going to miss most of the season, but then you see another team chasing him for a huge amount of money. They’ve made a lot of good decisions in that regard,” Pathan added. Pathan said another key improvement was Punjab’s focus on strengthening the squad’s depth. Advertisement As IPL 2026 approaches, Delhi and Punjab will aim to finally break their title drought, learn from the lessons of the past and feel renewed optimism for the future.
