IPL franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS) has now issued a statement against all the allegations that have led to the controversy with the team in IPL 2026.
Apart from all the off-field rumors, PBKS has also had to deal with a decline in on-field performances. After remaining unbeaten in the first half of the tournament, the team has now slipped to fourth place in the points table after losing four consecutive matches.
Allegations and rumors
Following PBKS’s on-field collapse, social media became active and several violations from their side were reported regarding their poor lifestyle choices and discipline issues.
Some of the things reported included the fact that some players were reportedly skipping practice in the morning, and spending the night “playing games”. This reportedly caused some players to miss their flights.
One scathing allegation in particular was made about batsman Prabhsimran Singh. It was alleged that Prabhasimran had gained around 10 kg during the tournament, but he shut down those rumours.
Also read: Prabhasimran Singh breaks silence on allegations of gaining 10 kg weight amid IPL 2026
In another incident, a viral video claimed that fast bowler Arshdeep Singh and captain Shreyas Iyer had an argument at the airport.
Arshdeep landed into another controversy when in another video he was seen with his alleged girlfriend Samreen Kaur in the team bus despite BCCI orders.
Also read: Arshdeep Singh ignored BCCI’s order, seen with Samreen Kaur in the team bus during IPL 2026
On his X account, PBKS himself had put up a post warning people in the media not to indulge in spreading fake news and misinformation.
ALSO READ: Punjab Kings and Preity Zinta take action over viral rumours, warn of serious action
PBKS coach clears the air
Punjab Kings assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves cleared all allegations during a press conference on the eve of Punjab’s match against Mumbai Indians on Thursday.
He was asked how the team management is trying to protect the players from the allegations and criticism against them.
“I will be very frank with you. I expected this question to come. There is no doubt about it. Yes, social media plays a big role today. News plays a big role. How the big players handle themselves against all these things is absolutely critical,” Gonsalves said.
“You don’t need anyone to teach them. First of all, they are big enough. They know how to control themselves. And yes, as far as we are concerned, we are more concerned about the cricketing part,” he said.
Gonsalves further said that anyone can write anything on the internet and their job is to play cricket rather than focus on it.
Gonsalves said, “You know, any blogger or any person can go and put anything on social media. And millions of people agree with it and are saying yes or no. But frankly, we’re not too worried about what social media says.”
“Now, at present, we are only worried about tomorrow’s game and how we are progressing in cricket,” he said.
PBKS next match
PBKS will take on Mumbai Indians in their next match in IPL 2026. This match will be held on Thursday at HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.
Punjab Kings will look to bounce back from their mid-season slump and break their four-match losing streak. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians are out of the tournament. Now their only hope is to be able to play party-poopers and sink Punjab further.