Punjab Kings Coach Breaks Silence On Yuzvendra Chahal Snub After ‘Spin Ban’ On Dharamsala Pitch

PBKS defended the decision to not bowl Yuzvendra Chahal despite suffering a fourth straight defeat in IPL 2026.

Punjab Kings’ poor run in the ongoing IPL 2026 season continued after their defeat against the Delhi Capitals, marking their fourth consecutive loss in the tournament. The defeat has now intensified scrutiny on the team’s tactical decisions, especially after premier spinner Yuzvendra Chahal went unused throughout the match despite being included in the playing XI.

With the loss, Punjab Kings’ grip on a top-four spot in the points table has weakened significantly after they dominated the early phase of the season by remaining unbeaten in their first seven matches.

Punjab Kings Defend Decision To Ignore Chahal

Following the defeat, Punjab Kings surprised many by sending spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule for the post-match press conference instead of captain Shreyas Iyer or the head coach.

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Bahutule addressed the questions surrounding the decision to persist only with pace bowlers and not hand a single over to Chahal during Delhi Capitals’ chase.

“Definitely there was a thought (about bowling spinners) during the time-out, but I think the ball was seaming and the conditions were suitable for the fast bowlers. So I think the decision was very spontaneous to continue with the fast bowlers and see how we can get those wickets, which we did early on. But I think one partnership just took it away from us.”

The explanation, however, did little to calm the criticism from fans and experts, many of whom questioned why one of India’s most experienced T20 spinners remained completely unused in a crucial game.

Punjab Kings Rule Out Major Changes Despite Losing Streak

Despite the alarming dip in form, Bahutule insisted that Punjab Kings are not planning sweeping changes to the squad ahead of the remaining league-stage fixtures.

“I think the team that has been doing so well, yes, we have lost a few games. We will again reflect on certain areas only. There won’t be any major changes, in the sense that everybody has been performing. But we will definitely look into it and see how we can just turn it around for ourselves.”

Punjab Kings had looked like strong title contenders earlier in the campaign, but four successive defeats have now put their playoff hopes under serious pressure heading into the final stretch of the league stage.

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Fielding Errors And Bowling Struggles Hurt PBKS Again

Bahutule also pointed towards costly mistakes in the field and inconsistent bowling execution as major reasons behind the defeat against Delhi Capitals.

“Definitely we will look into certain phases of our bowling and also the fielding part. Again, today unfortunately we dropped a few catches again at a crucial time, so that was very important. And I think we will reflect, but again, there is no time for us to really brood about it; we must move ahead. At a crucial time, we are dropping catches, which unfortunately is breaking the momentum that we were getting. Because if we had taken two catches, I don’t think they would have reached the target; it would have been very difficult for them and we may have won the game by 20 runs.”

Punjab Kings now face mounting pressure to quickly recover from their losing streak as the IPL 2026 playoff race enters a decisive phase.