Former cricketer Simon Doull feels that Punjab Kings should replace out-of-form Glenn Maxwell before their next encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders. Maxwell, who has had a poor season till now, has only scored 34 runs in 4 games, not contributing much either with the bat or ball.

In a conversation on Cricbuzz before Tuesday’s match, Doull hinted that Punjab should think about playing other options such as Azmatullah Omarzai or Josh Inglis, who may provide some stability to the middle order. Doull put down Maxwell’s sequence of poor dismissals, arguing that he still hasn’t played an innings-changing game this season.

“I think Maxwell has had his run. I mean, just the way he’s getting out at the moment, it would frustrate me as a coach. That’s the disappointing thing, I think, from their point of view. So Omarzai’s in for him, Inglis in for him, would be something I’d probably look at,” Simon Doull said

“Big loss for them in Lockie Ferguson. He bowled two balls in that game. Remember now, that might have made quite a big difference in that run chase. I think, you know, they had to go to Stoinis, they had to go to others, when they would probably have preferred Lockie’s pace through the middle. So he is now out, which I’m not sure for how long, so that leaves a bit of a hole in their genuine pace bowling options,” Simon Doull said on Lockie Ferguson’s injury,” Doull concluded.

But Punjab is not just worried about Maxwell alone. Their bowling attack has lost a big strike too with Lockie Ferguson having been injured out of the competition after he sustained an injury while bowling his opening over against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Even when they scored an enormous 245 runs in the match, the total could not be defended by PBKS – reflecting the issues of depth that their bowling side has.

Punjab Kings can now turn towards Kuldeep Sen as a potential Ferguson replacement, but they’ll have to make some aggressive choice decisions as they enter a decisive stage of the tournament.