It has been a tough two weeks for the Punjab Kings. They sat on the throne and raced toward the playoffs. But as they prepare for a high-voltage clash against Mumbai Indians in high altitude Dharamsala, last season’s runners-up look uncertain.
The four losses on the bounce have pulled them into fourth place in an increasingly crowded points table heading into Wednesday. They have three games left and their fate is in their own hands. Win all three and they are assured of a top two spot. They slipped and may not even make the playoffs – a disaster considering how dominant they looked after seven games unbeaten in all of them.
And nothing silences critics like success. The Punjabi kings witnessed this firsthand. When they got on a losing streak, the chatter started on social media. “The bloggers,” as assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves put itthey have speculated about a rift in the camp and the players are not on the same page as the captain. They claimed that Prabhsimran Singh, whose runs had dried up in the last few games, gained 10 kg during the season. Add to that the chatter about how some Punjab Kings players used social media, leading to controversies that the BCCI wanted to quell.
Punjab Kings head into their second game of the season in Dharamsala, this time against Mumbai Indians, who are already out of the playoffs and playing for pride. On Monday, their bowling and fielding – which has been a major problem this season – let them down again as they failed to defend 211 against Delhi Capitals.
The franchise has had enough. Preity Zinta took to X, drawing a line between criticism and “calculated disinformation”. The official account of Punjab Kings followed. Gonsalves, who arrived at the pre-match press conference with a straight back and no apparent concern for the injury, made it clear: “Any blogger and anyone can put something on social media and thousands of people agree.” For his part, Prabhsimran offered a more wordless rebuttal — a photo from the quiet banks of the Dharamsala river, shirtless, finger on lips. The team seems to have said what they had to and moved on.
But Punjab Kings are focused on the game in hand.
TALKING POINTS
Point for Prabhsimran Singh
After weeks of buzz about his fitness and a string of slim scores, Dharamsala – his home ground, his kind of ground – is the perfect stage for Prabhsimran to remind everyone what the conversation should really be about.
Well Hardik Pandya: The mystery continues
Four games, four absences, one vague explanation about back spasms— Hardik Pandya was spotted training in Mumbai on Tuesday but did not travel to Dharamsala and the Mumbai Indians offered nothing outside the official line.
Can Punjab stop the bleeding with the ball?
Seven times in 11 matches, the Punjab Kings have conceded over 200 – a number that tells its own story about a bowling unit that has been expensive and inconsistent and cannot afford another collapse where the ball flies. They definitely need to catch, catch better.
PBKS vs MI: HEAD-TO-HEAD
Not much separates the Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians, with both sides winning 17 of their 35 meetings. However, Punjab have won three on the bounce in the last two years, including at the Wankhede Stadium earlier this season, where they chased down 196 in just 16.3 overs.
DHARAMSALA WEATHER AND COURSE CONDITIONS
Training on the eve of the match was washed away due to rain. Showers are also expected on the day of the match, but the forecast suggests that the game will not be completely washed out. Expect stoppages, but it will be played for two points.
The Dharamsala pitch favors batting but the pace bowlers will find movement in the hills. Interestingly, both Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings did not bowl a single over spin on Monday. Historically, however, spinners have fared significantly better at this venue in T20s – 44 wickets at an economy of 8.22 and an average of 26.95, compared to the seamen’s 134 wickets at an economy of 9.02 and an average of 29.52. Will Yuzvendra Chahal get to bowl?
The small size of the boundaries and the late evening dew make bowling second at this venue a nightmare. Gonsalves hinted that a new pitch with different features will be in play on Wednesday. But with overnight rain, how much it actually differs from Monday’s surface remains to be seen. Regardless, expect the ball to fly off the bat.
TEAM NEWS AND GAME PREDICTION XI
Mumbai Indians will be without Hardik Pandya again. While the franchise says he has missed the last four games due to back spasms, social media is abuzz with rumors of a possible layoff. Hardik was seen training in Mumbai on Tuesday night but did not travel to Dharamsala. Stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav also did not travel with the team but is expected to join the team.
Mumbai Indians may also want to play an extra pacer in Shardul Thakur or Ashwani Kumar instead of leg-spinner Raghu Sharma.
For Punjab Kings, changes in the bowling line-up seem imminent. On Monday, they dropped Vyshak Vijaykumar – one of their most consistent bowlers – for Yash Thakur and the move backfired. Vyshak will probably return. They may also look at bringing in Xavier Bartlett, whose form has thinned after a bright start to the season, perhaps in place of Ben Dwarshuis, who conceded 51 in four overs against Delhi Capitals, to break the pattern of three left-arm fast bowlers.
PREDICTED XI: PBKS Vs. ME
Kings of Punjab: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Arshdeep Singh.
Impact Sub: Yuzvenda Chahal
Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Raj Angad Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, AM Ghazanfar, Jasprit Bumrah.
Impact Sub: Ashwani Kumar
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Published on:
14 May 2026 09:55 IST
