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Punjab Kings
Declaring that his "eye is on the trophy", Shreyas Iyer on Friday said Punjab Kings are focused on building strong camaraderie off the field ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026 season. Speaking at the franchise's jersey unveiling event in Mohali, Iyer stressed on the importance of team bonding during the early phase of the tournament. "This is the period where we live as a family for two months. The more time we spend together, the more we get to know each other. Now is the time where we build that camaraderie," Iyer said. "We spend most of our time in the game room, playing FIFA and other games. The planning and plotting for matches usually happens a day or two before the game, but building this bond off the field helps us get better results eventually," he added. Punjab Kings will open their campaign in the upcoming season against Gujarat Titans on March 31 at home. Embracing expectations from fans, who have nicknamed him 'Sarpanch Sahab', Iyer made his ambitions ...
Yuzvendra Chahal has quit alcohol to become a fitter cricketer, allowing him to give his "150 per cent" for his franchise Punjab Kings in the IPL beginning on March 28. Punjab Kings finished as runners-up in the previous edition. It was their first final appearance since 2014. Speaking on South African great AB de Villiers' YouTube channel, Chahal revealed that he has not had alcohol in more than six months besides sharing his struggles with injuries last season. "After the KKR [Kolkata Knight Riders] game, my hip got fractured and later in the tournament my knuckle got fractured. So in the semi-final [Qualifiers] and final, I was not able to bowl my proper legspin and all," said Chahal. "But this year I [wanted] to take care of my body first and I have one good news for you, I stopped alcohol. It's been more than six months. "Now, I'm 35, I want to be more active and give my 150 per cent for my team. As a senior bowler and senior player, people will see me [and think] 'this guy,
New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson will miss the first seven league games for his IPL franchise Punjab Kings to spend time at home following the birth of his first child. Ferguson had taken a paternity league midway into the T20 World Cup before rejoining New Zealand for the Super 8 stage. The pacer could only play four games for Punjab Kings last season due to a hamstring injury. Last season, the team reached its first final since 2014. "He is not available for the first seven games," an IPL source told PTI. Ahead of the third T20 against South Africa in Auckland, Ferguson spoke about the time off from the IPL. "Just had a wee son, trying to spend as much time as I can at home and help the wife out. I'll have a few weeks off after this, before sort of heading to the later stages of the IPL and away for the winter," he said.
Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting has approved the late arrival Marco Jansen for the IPL considering that the South African all-rounder was among the last batch of players who departed late from India following the T20 World Cup due to logistical issues. South Africa and West Indies players were stuck in India for more than a week after concluding their World Cup campaigns. Some of them, including West Indies head coach Daren Sammy and Proteas batter David Miller, also vented out their frustration over the delay in their departure from India due to restricted operations of major airports like Dubai and Abu Dhabi amid the West Asia conflict. Jansen, a key member of the PBKS unit, will join the squad on March 26. Ponting and majority of foreign players are set to link up with the team on March 21. Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai will join the team on March 23 from Kabul. His country is currently involved in a conflict with Pakistan. In their first year with PBKS, the .