IPL 2026: Punjab Kings unperturbed by online smear campaign, bowling coach says it won’t derail the playoff push

DHARAMSHALA: Punjab Kings are not rattled by the ongoing rumours of team discord being circulated on social media, their assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves said here on Wednesday, insisting the team remains focused on cricket even as speculation swirls around the off-field conduct of certain players amid talk of team discord. After having started the season in spectacular fashion, the team now has four losses on the trot.

Gonsalves said the players are “big enough” to handle online noise and that the coaching staff’s priority is to “prepare the team for the matches ahead” rather than “chasing every circulating rumour” on social-media platforms.

“Any blogger or any person can go and put up anything on social media and there will be lakhs of people agreeing to it and getting a kind of sadistic joy out of it,” Gonsalves said, adding, “We are more concerned about the cricketing part.”

He reiterated that nothing has changed internally and that the dressing room remains confident about qualifying for the playoffs. “Three games are left. We hope to give our best. There are some areas of our game we need to iron out. We’ve done that and we’ll come back strongly,” Gonsalves said.

Asked about head coach Ricky Ponting’s handling of the situation, Gonsalves painted a picture of calm leadership. “Ricky (Ponting) has been marvellous. He knows how to deal with such stuff. I’ve seen absolute professionalism in the way he handles the players as well as such situations. Being too much into social media can be good as well as bad for the players, but there’s a limitation and a line has been drawn,” Gonsalves said.

The sequence of events that got them here has been well-documented. A clip from pacer Arshdeep Singh’s travel vlog went viral after eagle-eyed viewers alleged that Yuzvendra Chahal was seen vaping on the flight. Arshdeep was subsequently directed by the BCCI to refrain from posting vlogs. Then came reports about Prabhsimran Singh gaining 10kg of weight, players staying up till the early hours, avoiding practice and some even missing flights. A rift between the captain and senior players was also alleged, for good measure.

The PBKS management issued a strong statement, initially calling out “sports journalists” specifically, before editing the post to remove that phrase. Prabhsimran, for his part, let his torso do the talking, posting a story on Instagram flexing his physique near a waterfall in Dharamshala, accompanied by a shushing emoji.

Meanwhile, PBKS co-owner Preity Zinta tweeted, “There’s a difference between criticism and calculated misinformation. Healthy debate around the game is welcome, but the deliberate spread of fake narratives to damage individuals, the team, or the brand should not and will not be taken lightly. I urge everyone including verified voices and media professionals to exercise responsibility before amplifying unverified information.”