‘Udta’ Punjab Kings crashes after a month of hits as ‘Sarpanch’ Shreyas Iyer misses out on IPL 2026 glory

“Did Zinta’s team win?” The answer is again no! Despite looking nothing like the old Punjab Kings at the start of IPL 2026, the Punjab Kings somehow managed to produce the most ‘OG’ Punjab Kings season ever.

Initially, he appeared invincible, aggressive, fearless and emotionally charged. The arrival of ‘Sarpanch’ Shreyas Iyer as captain along with the influence of Ricky Ponting had turned the franchise into genuine title contenders.

After six wins in their first seven matches, swag in the dressing room, dominance on social media, consistent performances from young Indian stars, and the fanbase had finally started believing again, they were on track to lift their first IPL trophy after years of drought.

However, as popular Punjabi artist Nawan Sandhu said, “Manifesta naal ban di ni gal nadiye, footwork to banda full tej chahiye, mind je stable nahi, focus nahi hunda, tahiyon kil gaddi da nahio pech lai da.”

[Roughly translate to: “Just manifesting your desires isn’t enough, you actually have to be quick on your feet and put in the work. If your mind isn’t stable, you lose focus, and that’s exactly why you don’t go reckless or push things to the limit when you’re not mentally grounded.“]

Everything collapsed with terrifying speed. Punjab Kings were knocked out of IPL 2026 after losing six consecutive matches, but their hopes were briefly dashed with a late win over Lucknow Super Giants. But by then the damage had been done. Rajasthan Royals sealed the final playoff spot, Punjab Kings finished fifth with 15 points from 14 matches, and what once looked like a title-winning campaign ended in disappointment, trolling, controversies and uncomfortable questions.

Punjab Kings start IPL 2026 with ‘HITS’

The scariest thing about Punjab Kings’ early season was how complete they looked. They weren’t rising above teams through luck or isolated talent. PBKS was dominating the opposition in different ways. Priyansh Arya’s fearless batting gave them explosive starts, Prabhsimran Singh looked like a dependable top-order batsman, and Cooper Connolly emerged as a revelation. Other players also made good contributions with both bat and ball.

Most importantly, Shreyas Iyer looked in complete command as captain and batsman. It was a classic Shreyas Iyer performance as he was calm under pressure, proactive with the bowling changes and tactically quick in the run-chase.

Ricky Ponting’s aggressive mentality also had a deep impact on the team. Punjab Kings no longer look like a confused franchise of directionless constant experimentation.

After seven matches, Punjab Kings remained unbeaten with six wins and one match against Kolkata Knight Riders was washed out due to rain. They were sitting comfortably near the top of the table, and the talk was around ‘Can they become the first team to win the IPL trophy undefeated?’

However, that unbeaten run sparked something alarming inside the franchise. Confidence slowly started turning into arrogance. Arrogance slowly started turning into noise. And once the losses hit, it became impossible to control the noise.

Punjab Kings go from hit to heartbreak in Shreyas Iyer’s failed IPL 2026 bid

The Shreyas Iyer-led team was a complete flop and continued its unimaginable losing streak. Punjab Kings lost six consecutive matches immediately after their unbeaten initial run. The batting became erratic, the bowling lost discipline and the pressure situations began to expose the lack of composure within the team. The scary thing was how quickly the momentum disappeared.

For a week, they looked to be the most dangerous team in the tournament. The following week, they looked emotionally exhausted and tactically weak. Many defeats could also have been avoided. Against Mumbai Indians, they lost by six wickets with one ball remaining and Gujarat Titans defeated them by four wickets with one ball remaining.

Arshdeep Singh was expected to lead the bowling attack in crunch moments, but he struggled badly during the season. Chahal could not maintain consistent control in the middle overs. Marco Jansen faded during the most crucial phase of the campaign while Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh both lost form together.

Punjab Kings suddenly became overly dependent on sporadic performances rather than functioning as an established unit.

Ultimately the pressure swallowed them. Even their final win against Lucknow Super Giants delayed the inevitable as other results had already severely damaged their qualification hopes. A team that once looked capable of finishing in the top two ended up missing out on the playoffs altogether.

However, the poor performance and sudden turnaround cannot be blamed solely on on-field shows like dropped catches, poor batting, poor bowling and poor strategies, as there were things happening off the field that created a toxic environment around the team.

Also read: Punjab Kings announce acquisition of WPL team

Controversies that ruined Punjab Kings’ campaign

Punjab Kings spent as much time in the limelight off the field as they did on the field. Controversies began to escalate rapidly during the second half of the season. Yuzvendra Chahal came into unwanted limelight after a viral clip linked him to allegations related to vaping during a flight journey. Arshdeep Singh came into controversy after allegedly ignoring BCCI movement guidelines related to family access and team-bus protocols.

Even worse was the era of social media. The official handle of Punjab Kings became unusually aggressive online during the peak of their winning campaign. There were sarcastic posts, indirect sarcasm and ultimately a public backlash after the franchise released a statement targeting the rumors and criticism surrounding the players and dressing room issues.

Instead of calming the situation, the statement worsened the perception. Amidst the criticism over his fitness and weight gain claims, Prabhsimran Singh also attracted attention by posting a screaming emoji on Instagram. Harpreet Brar’s aggressive comments added to the perception that Punjab Kings were emotionally drained early in the tournament.

The Tilak Verma controversy involving Arshdeep Singh’s racist comments became another ugly distraction. What was initially ignored as a joke turned into widespread online criticism, debates about colorism, and calls for stronger action.

At some point, cricket stopped becoming the central conversation around the Punjab Kings. And it is always dangerous during the IPL season. Title-winning teams usually become outwardly quiet as the tournament progresses. Punjab Kings became vocal in some way or the other after every win. Every social media exchange, every celebration, every reaction began to carry additional emotional weight. Then the losses came, and suddenly all that noise came back to haunt them.

Honest verdict on Punjab Kings’ flop show

The fans were completely behind the Punjab Kings during the first half of IPL 2026. With the way Punjabi music dominates playlists across India and globally today, it really feels like Punjab Kings have finally become a good IPL team too.

At a time when big Punjabi artists like Nawan Sandhu, Prem Dhillon, Arjan Dhillon and Cheema Y were announcing albums, celebrities were openly supporting franchises, social media activism was on the rise, and Shreyas Iyer’s “Sarpanch” image connected beautifully with fans; Everything was looking blissful for Punjab and the Punjab Kings team.

However, off-field controversies and ego kept him from making it to the playoffs. Earlier in the tournament, after the loss against Kolkata Knight Riders, the PBKS social media team arrogantly claimed that they had lost a point, and claimed that they had gifted a point to KKR.

That exact thing had a huge impact on the team and they missed qualification by one point as they finished on 15 points with a net run rate of 0.309, which was better than Rajasthan Royals’ 0.189.

So, Punjab Kings did not fail because of one player. They failed because the emotional balance within the campaign gradually disappeared. Shreyas Iyer honestly deserves very little blame for how the season ended. In many ways, he did exactly what Punjab Kings wanted from a captain. Ricky Ponting also deserves credit for helping to create a far more competitive environment.

But good captains and good coaches alone cannot win the IPL trophy. When the pressure became severe, Punjab Kings’ key players did not perform consistently enough. Arshdeep Singh was very expensive, Chahal never looked in full control, while Priyansh Arya struggled when opposition teams started planning against him more carefully.

And somewhere during that unbeaten run, Punjab Kings started behaving as if the trophy was already theirs. The players’ public shaming, constant online chest-beating, and emotionally charged reactions after wins gradually created an image of a team that was enjoying the noise a little too much. The IPL season punishes teams mentally before they punish them tactically. Punjab Kings never looked emotionally stable after facing adversity. That’s why this collapse hurts more than last season.

Because this time, they actually looked good enough to win it all. Initially, Punjab Kings really felt like one of the best stories of IPL 2026, but the season ended on a sour note, with Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting having a lot of questions to answer.

If there’s one mindset the Punjab Kings players need heading into the next season, it’s this “Kri chal mahanatan ne bhaag lagde. Sada lead chitteya te zada daag lagde.”. [Rough translation of lyrics by Shubh: “Keep grinding, because hard work always brings good fortune and success, and remember, the cleaner your clothes (or the higher your status), the more glaringly the stains will show.”]

Also read: Shreyas Iyer named ‘main contender’ for India T20I captaincy despite Punjab Kings collapse