Punjab Kings (PBKS) head coach Ricky Ponting has urged his team to be physically and mentally prepared for IPL 2026.
Punjab Kings came close to clinching their maiden IPL title last year, but lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six runs in the final in Ahmedabad. This extended PBKS' 18-year drought of winning an IPL title.
Punjab Kings coach Ricky Ponting addresses his players
"This is training, this is preparation. This is about getting ourselves physically, technically and mentally right for that first game on the 31st.
"I want you to think back and think what you brought to this team last year, and that made us a good team," Ponting said during a training session, as per a PBKS press release.
The former Australian captain added that making mistakes was fine, but said that it is important to stick to the game plan.
"We all make mistakes. That is fine. I will make mistakes on the way through this. You will all make mistakes, you will drop a catch, you will play bad shots, you will bowl a bad over.
"But as long as you are sticking to what you know and what your game plan is, if you make a mistake, doing that in my eyes is not a mistake. It is just what happens in the game, it is a part of the game," Ponting explained.
In IPL 2025, PBKS finished the league stage on top of the standings with 19 points. They lost to RCB in Qualifier 1, before beating the Mumbai Indians (MI) by five wickets. In the final, PBKS were set a target of 191, but RCB restricted them to 184/7 from 20 overs.
PBKS will begin their IPL 2026 campaign with a home game against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Mullanpur on 31 March.
They will then take on Chennai Super Kings (3 April, Chennai), Kolkata Knight Riders (6 April, Kolkata) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (11 April, Mullanpur).
Due to the upcoming assembly elections in multiple states, including Assam, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, the IPL Governing Council has announced the schedule for only the first 20 matches of IPL 2026. The schedule for the rest of IPL 2026 is likely to be announced in the coming days.
