Is this the year for Punjab Kings? That is the question on the lips of fans of the IPL, as PBKS stretched their unbeaten run to five matches and regained the top of the table in the 2026 Indian Premier League. For the franchise with no trophies to their name, every year begins with the question of whether the team can go the distance. For the first time in many years, it feels like the answer is yes.
Shreyas Iyer is attempting to guide Punjab Kings to a first IPL trophy. (AP)
Punjab did reach the final in 2025, but for a young team in the first year of a fresh cycle, one they entered with a single retention in vice-captain Shashank Singh, it was a question of testing the waters and seeing how far they could actually go. It was a breath of fresh air as Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting joined forces – a successful duo in Delhi.
Last year, it was more aspirational than anything else. Punjab needed a reset, and they got one as they racked up 19 points and finished top of the table. It was the energy of a young upstart team, led by a domestic core and following the modern T20 tactics of batting as deep as possible and going as hard as possible.
What gives Punjab in 2026 their X-factor
Things are different in 2026. Now a known quantity, they have gone from being punchy underdogs to being genuine threats. The quality in their team makes it look like a stacked unit, but it’s the fashion in which they are racking up wins that truly makes them look like they are a team that believes they are meant for the championship.
Already this season, they have chased down 205, 220, and now 196 with consummate ease – with a combined 36 deliveries to spare across them. They have hardly broken a sweat and find themselves in first place and in pole position to make the playoffs yet again, only having ended a ten-year drought from the final four last time out.
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For a team like Punjab, as it was for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2025, the energy and the mentality is different when it comes to a question of ending a long barren spell. What PBKS feel like in 2026 is not too different to what RCB felt like in 2025 (and indeed continue to feel like in 2026) – a winning machine, one that knows exactly what it needs to do in every single game, and does it with a Terminator-like precision.
What is working for Punjab starts at the very top – maybe the best tactician in the league in Ponting, with the charisma of Iyer at the head of a young team that has domestic stars like Arshdeep Singh, Priyansh Arya, and Prabhsimran Singh, all of whom who have proven to be some of the most efficient cricketers in their roles in the tournament. Supplement that with the experience of Stoinis and Chahal, it is a recipe for success – and one that is succeeding.
The power of Punjab’s momentum
In the modern-day IPL, things are so level in terms of quality, scouting, and analytics that it often becomes a question of momentum. The resources and a good idea of how to use them are in place, but what the inertia of good performances can do is unlike anything else. RCB entered 2025 after a rollercoaster end to 2024 where they made the playoffs after being in last place in the table and racing away to six consecutive wins to end the season.
Of course, things don’t always translate – Mumbai Indians had a similar late-season remontada to reach the playoffs last year, but have looked completely off-colour to start this season with poor performances. But Punjab haven’t faced that downslide: they needed to start the season well when they had a relatively easy run of fixtures, and have just done that with truly comprehensive performances.
Now is when the tricky part of the season begins for PBKS – they have a match against LSG on Sunday, but then a near-week break before they face strong Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Sunrisers in an 11-day period. Their key will be to ensure they don’t lose pace in that six-day gap, and that they can find the results even when situations aren’t going in their favour.
