Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Shashank Singh has set high hopes for his team to clinch the maiden trophy. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) vice-captain revealed that all the players are preparing upto the mark for the forthcoming 19th season and the team is keen to end the trophy drought.
PBKS had a stellar campaign in the previous season and were the favorites to win the championship title before losing to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2025 final.
However, the franchise retained its core group of players and signed Cooper Connolly and Ben Dwarshuis.
Shashank Singh’s Promise to End PBKS 18-Year Trophy Wait
PBKS batter reflected on his team’s mistakes in the past and expressed confidence that supporters will enjoy the most entertaining season ever.
Here is how Shashank Singh responded when pointed out about PBKS heartbreaking loss in the final:
“No! What I mean to say is, Sir, you are totally right. I think it has been a long time— 18 years. Last season, we got to learn many things and managed to rectify some mistakes. This year, we promise to make fans prouder than ever and celebrate together,” Shashank said.
PBKS progressed into the finals as the IPL 2025 table toppers after concluding the league stages with 9 wins out of 14 games. Although the Shreyas Iyer-led side levelled the 19-point tally with RCB, a superior net-run-rate (NRR) played a pivotal role in the points table rankings.
In one or two games, Shashank was appointed as the stand-in captain when Shreyas missed out due to unavoidable circumstances.
PBKS Aims for Better Performance At HomeGround in IPL 2026
Punjab Kings must overcome yet another tough challenge in the upcoming IPL season in 2026— finding success on their home grounds.
Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium in Mullanpur (New Chandigarh) saw a lackluster performance from the home team. Particularly in the last season, the Kings lost 4 out of 6 home matches.
In other words, Punjab secured nine victories in IPL 2025, seven of which were achieved at away venues in India.
Here was the question the interviewer asked Shashank:
“One more thing! The home ground has always been a highly discussed topic. It is said that Punjab lost most games at homeground. What is your opinion about that? Do you think the entire team needs to learn from their homegrounds?”
In response, the Punjab Kings’ consistent batter accepted the fact and promised an improved outcome in home games this season:
“Correct! I agree with you, sir. As you said, our results on home grounds were disappointing last year. But we have rectified several mistakes. Mainly, our batting unit struggled last time, but we ensured to work on the technical aspects.
You will definitely see how we are going to perform at our best this year,” Shashank replied.
‘Repeat the Previous Season’s Plans’: Shashank Reveals PBKS Strategy
Reiterating the above lines, PBKS has made only a handful of changes by not signing in too many new talents. When asked about the team’s strategy for IPL 2026, Shashank Singh clarified that there won’t be any changes to the previous year’s strategy.
“See! Out of 25 players, 23 of them are retained from last year’s squad. This is because each of them holds a strong bond and is well aware of their roles. Most importantly, we keep the strategies simple as all of them need to repeat what they have done last season,” Shashank added.
Furthermore, the PBKS captain continued by crediting his skipper, Shreyas Iyer, and head coach Ricky Ponting for allowing players to perform in their comfort zone:
“Certainly! Shreyas and Ricky Sir’s combination has been superb. Their partnership ensured every player stayed in their comfort zone, and I believe that for the next 2 to 2.5 months, this could be a great memory for us.
I think there is nothing much to worry about cricket. All we need to do is repeat our previous season’s performance, because it is difficult to start from scratch. Our journey till the final was outstanding, even though we didn’t win the trophy. But, we just need to ensure we keep repeating with that strategy,” the 34-year-old explained.
Final Opinion
Releasing the Australian players like Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell, PBKS made use of the chance to add depth to the bowling line-up without taking any risk of making too many changes to the squad.
The signing of spin bowling all-rounder Cooper Connolly opens a new dimension in the batting line-up and spin bowling attack. While Ben Dwarshuis can provide the necessary backup to the fast bowling unit.
Shashank Singh is clear with his goals as the upcoming two months are extremely crucial for his team to maintain focus and win their first-ever IPL trophy.
Overall, the PBKS vice-captain promised to keep himself enjoying the big moments instead of feeling pressured. The right-handed batter has revived Punjab Kings’ confidence as the entire team is gearing up to turn their ambition into a sensational achievement in the forthcoming IPL edition.