“Our campaign was derailed by incompetence…” – PBKS coach’s honest confession after sixth straight loss

Punjab Kings (PBKS) turned their full attention to their final league match of the IPL 2026 season after suffering a defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in an afternoon encounter at the HPCA Cricket Stadium in Dharamsala. Despite creating strong phases in the match, PBKS were unable to sustain the momentum and key moments disappeared in the decisive phases. The result marked their sixth consecutive defeat, leaving their play-off hopes hanging in the balance and dependent on clean run calculations and other match results. With only one league match left, Punjab Kings have 13 points. Although their recent slump has seriously affected their position in the table, the mathematical chance of making the play-offs still remains as they head into the final week of the play-off stage. Fast bowling coach James Hopes has pointed to the team’s inability to control key moments as the main reason for their downfall this season, highlighting how momentum has repeatedly slipped from their grasp. “I think what derailed our campaign was not being able to take control of the momentum in the games. Every time we looked like we did, we did something to hurt ourselves or trip ourselves up. T20 is a game where it’s very easy to go on a winning run and it’s very easy to go the other way. We had both emotions in this tournament and now we need a week to regroup the guys,” he said. Hopes also defended the team selection strategy throughout the season, explaining that every change in the playing eleven was carefully planned with balance and competition in mind. “Every change we’ve made has been very measured. They’ve been thought out with the opposition in mind and thought out to keep our core structure like Arshdeep, Chahal and our top four and try to make changes around them to complement what they’re doing. It just hasn’t worked out in the last few weeks and that’s the way this game goes sometimes,” he said. Despite the disappointing results, Hopes stressed that the training environment and level of preparation remains strong and that the immediate focus is on rebuilding confidence ahead of their final outing. “The guys are training well, the guys are planning well. It’s just that we get moments where we get the game back on track and right now it’s not happening. The guys have to regroup, stay positive and believe in themselves. At this point it’s going to be about getting that belief back,” he added. Looking ahead to their last league game against Lucknow Super Giants, Hopes admitted that PBKS are now relying on different results while acknowledging the missed opportunities earlier in the season.

Are Punjab Kings likely to make it to the playoffs?

“We got into this position so we rely on some other teams. We didn’t take the opportunity in the last few weeks to make sure of the top four and now we are where we are and there is nothing to hide behind. Yes, we could have played better but now we need to regroup and make sure we play our best next Saturday,” he signed. Punjab Kings will face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their final league match of the tournament on Saturday, May 23.