PBKS in IPL 2026: A season in the clouds and six-feet under

Winning is a habit, but so is losing. Punjab Kings, in IPL 2026, demonstrated that there are reasons to stick with it. Unbeaten in the first half of the season, the Shreyas Iyer-led side had promised to put up one of the most dominant displays ever witnessed. And out of nowhere, as the lead bowler started striking and Lockie Ferguson returned, the team almost forgot the process of winning.

Batters would mount runs, but bowlers found no way to stop the leaks. Simple catches were dropped. They were not being outplayed, but over and over again, they turned up second best.

From a loss against Rajasthan Royals to reaching a point where even a victory in the final game couldn't guarantee them a spot in the playoffs, the season's slide often lacked an explanation. The same core with greater experience suddenly started to prove ineffective. As a result, the campaign fizzled out.

Player of the season: Shreyas Iyer

498 runs at 168.81 – the PBKS captain carried on from the good work done by the top-order, or ensured the innings didn't fall apart in the absence of a strong start. In almost every second outing, he went past the 50-run mark, and delivered with a century in the must-win game against LSG. While his bowling unit lacked bite, some of his bowling changes were inspired, none more than the clever utilisation of Shashank Singh.

PBKS had the worst performing bowling unit this season – with the worst average (42.54), strike rate (24.5) and economy rate (10.40). Barring Azmatullah Omarzai and Shashank Singh, none of their seam bowling options conceded at less than 10 an over.

A mini auction pick that…

Looked a million bucks: Picked at INR 3 Crore, Cooper Connolly offered his money's worth. The Australian southpaw adapted seamlessly, kickstarting his campaign with a match-winning 44-ball 72*. He remained consistent throughout the season, finishing with 491 runs at a strike rate of 163.12.

Didn't work out: None really. Ben Dwarshuis didn't have an impressive outing against DC (the only game he played), but any judgement over a one-off performance would be unfair.

Six days after hammering Lucknow Super Giants for 254 for 7, PBKS made a mockery of Delhi Capitals' score of 264 for 2. Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya's opening stand of 126 in only 41 balls ensured Kings blazed their way to the target with seven balls to spare, breaking their own record for the highest total chased down in IPL.

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being urgent need for introspection and 10, a celebration into the night – IPL 2026 for Punjab Kings has been: A (generous) 7

Punjab Kings may have lost six out of 14 games, but they were never really outplayed. At worst, they lost two games by reasonable margins. If not for the point lost to rain against KKR when they were on a victory run, Punjab Kings would have qualified to the playoffs.