Are dropped catches costing PBKS? Shreyas Iyer's honest admission after SRH loss costs No. 1 spot in IPL 2026

Lockie Ferguson joined the list in the 11th over when he fumbled another chance off Yuzvendra Chahal's bowling. In that same over, wicketkeeper Prabhsimran Singh also failed to execute a stumping, as SRH powered their way to 235 for 4.

"We dropped too many catches," Iyer said. "I think it was a bit too much because we dropped many catches at the start, and we could have easily [reduced] their score by 30-40 runs.

"I guess because the wicket kept getting slower and the cutters were holding up a bit. So, we weren't comprehensive enough on the field, nor in bowling, nor in batting. So, I think they played comprehensive cricket and they showed us how to win the match."

MORE:No more a bowling liability: How SRH flipped the script in IPL 2026

Yuzvendra Chahal's misfortunes continue against SRH

Nobody has suffered more from Punjab's fielding failures than Chahal. He finished with figures of 1 for 32 but was left shaking his head as a dropped catch and a missed stumping came off consecutive deliveries in a single over.

Across the entire season, Chahal has generated 16 catching chances and seen eight of them put down by his teammates, a catching efficiency of just 50 percent off his bowling.

"[Chahal] bowled beautifully today without luck," Iyer said. "Certainly, the way he bowled, he was fearless and his attitude was fantastic against left-handers… I asked him to be attacking, especially when the new batsmen were in, because they were on the charge right from ball one.

"And it was crucial to get wickets at that point of time. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take catches. I think that was the biggest setback for us in today's game."

MORE:Most 200-plus scores in a T20 tournament: SRH equal PBKS & GT record

How many catches have Punjab Kings dropped in IPL 2026?

Across 10 matches this season, Punjab have put down 16 catches, a figure they share with Chennai Super Kings for the most in the competition. But their catching efficiency of 71.43 percent is the worst of any side in IPL 2026.

Head coach Ricky Ponting, speaking to broadcasters during the first innings, tried to treat the situation with a degree of dark humour, joking that the problem had spread through the squad like a virus.

"It's like a virus. We've put a lot of catches down so far this season," he said.

He also singled out Shashank and opined that, although he is a valuable T20 cricketer, dropping catches at this frequency is simply not acceptable at this level.

"The boys have worked exceptionally hard and, you know, poor old Shashank there. It just looks like the ball is following him around everywhere he goes. He's sitting under a high ball. [On Shashank] He missed a couple of games with a strained left hamstring. So it's taken him about a week and a half to come back from that."

"He's done all his work the last week to be physically right to play the game. And we have pumped the catching into him over the last five or six days. There's no doubt about that. But yeah, once again, one goes down tonight, and hopefully it's not too costly.

"He is a very, very good T20 player, but he can't afford to be dropping catches like that. So one thing I said to the boys at the time out is those chances are coming. And if we can hang on to them, we can make a bit of a dent in this batting lineup and hopefully get into the lower order sooner rather than later."

The Cricket News Opinion: PBKS must back their talent with efforts on the field

Punjab Kings have quality throughout their lineup, and on their day, they are capable of beating anyone in this competition. But dropping catches is not a skills problem; it is a standards problem.

Every dropped catch costs runs, sometimes matches, and over a full season, it costs points and advantages come the playoffs. Ponting is right that the ball will keep coming to the same fielders. Whether Punjab can fix this before the playoffs is the question that remains.

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