Speaking on JioStar, Pathan explained that Delhi struggled with talent identification in the early 2010s, which hindered their progress.“When I was in Delhi, Eric Simmons, who is now with CSK as bowling coach, was the coach, and efforts were made to bring stability. But when you let players like AB de VilliersAnd you have Andre Russell, starting from scratch is not easy. I played with Russell in the same dressing room and there was a lot of discussion about giving him more chances, but they couldn’t make a place for him in the playing eleven consistently. So, talent identification is very important, and I think Delhi used to lag in that area,” Pathan said.Punjab, on the other hand, have shown signs of progress in recent seasons. Ahead of IPL 2025, franchise makes significant changes by appointing Australian great ricky ponting As head coach and signing Shreyas Iyer For ₹26.75 crore. The team enjoyed a strong campaign and reached the final before falling short against Royal Challengers Bangalore.Pathan credited his superior leadership and strategic planning for Punjab’s revival.“Leadership has played a big role in Punjab’s turnaround. You win half the IPL at the auction table. Big purses don’t always mean you get what you want, but they did and they reached the final. Even in the mini-auction, they took bold but important decisions, like dropping players who were not performing well, like Glenn Maxwell,” he explained.He also mentioned the situation involving Josh Inglis, noting how the circumstances affected his plans.Pathan said, “They were a bit unfortunate because of Josh Inglis’ situation because he will miss most of the season, but then you see another team going after him for a huge price. In that regard, they are making a lot of right decisions.”According to Pathan, another important improvement is Punjab’s focus on strengthening the depth of its team.“Look at the backup players. In the past, Punjab had to struggle with this when the focus was solely on building the first XI, but now you see a young Indian batting core along with all-rounders like Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen and Marcus Stoinis. Also, after they decided to make Shreyas Iyer the captain, they were going all out for him. So, there is clarity in thought, and I think Punjab has started moving in the right direction,” he concluded.As IPL 2026 approaches, both Delhi and Punjab will aim to finally break their title drought, armed with lessons from the past and renewed optimism for the future.