IPL: Blow for Punjab Kings as ICC Player of the Year unavailable for league phase due to personal reasons

Punjab Kings will be without ICC ODI Player of the Year Azamatullah Omarzai will be unavailable for the entirety of the league phase of the tournament. The  Afghanistan all-rounder has delayed his arrival due to personal reasons, news agency PTI reported on Monday.

The foreign players of Punjab Kings are arriving from March 17, Monday onwards but Omarzai will be able to join the squad only on May 20, Tuesday.

Punjab Kings play their season opener against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on March 25 and by the time of the 24-year-old's arrival at Dharamsala would have played all of their league games. The last game of the Shreyas Iyer-led side is against Rajasthan Royals on May 16. This means, if Azamatullah Omarzai is not to return early, Punjan Kings will have to make it to the knock-out stage without him.

The season also marks the start of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting's journey at Punjab Kings.

The Indian players of the squad, including new recruit Yuzvendra Chahal, reached Chandigarh on Sunday night after a training camp in Dharamsala where they will play three home games this season.

Lead pacer Arshdeep Singh and captain Iyer, who were part of India's Champions Trophy squad, have also joined the team in Chandigarh. The Indian players were given a week off post the Champions Trophy triumph.

"Omarzai has some issue at home. He will be in India by May 20. The rest of the foreign players start trickling in from today," said an IPL source.

After guiding KKR to the title last season, Iyer will be expected to pull Punjab Kings out of doldrums after more than a decade of under-performance.

The squad is packed with all-rounders including Marco Jansen, Omarzai, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, who returns to the franchise.