On April 25, Punjab Kings chased 265 against Delhi Capitals — the highest successful run chase in T20 cricket history. On May 11, the same Delhi Capitals beat them in Dharamsala. Twelve days. Same opponent. Completely different team.
After 7 matches, PBKS were the only unbeaten side in IPL 2026 — six wins, one no result, top of the table, the franchise that finally looked like it had figured itself out after 18 years of jokes. After 11, they’re a team where the owner is fighting Instagram trolls, players are posting shirtless photos to deny weight-gain rumours, and Yuzvendra Chahal can be in the playing XI but apparently not allowed to bowl a single over.
This is the most chaotic 12-day stretch any IPL franchise has had this season — and the PBKS IPL 2026 collapse losing streak has no single explanation. Here’s how it actually unraveled.
Four Straight Losses, One Pattern Nobody Can Fix
The first crack came on May 3 against GT. PBKS posted 163, looked safe, and watched Washington Sundar hit Marcus Stoinis for a last-over six. Four-wicket loss. The kind of finish that should’ve been a one-off.
It wasn’t. LSG rolled them next. Then SRH absolutely buried them in Hyderabad — 235/4, a 33-run defeat, and Cooper Connolly’s 107* (youngest overseas IPL centurion ever, at 22 years 257 days) going completely in vain. PBKS dropped Klaasen, who scored 69. They dropped three catches in total. SRH made it nine consecutive wins over PBKS at that venue.
Then Dharamsala on May 11. PBKS posted 210. Should’ve been safe. Wasn’t. Axar Patel got 56, David Miller got 51, and somehow Yuzvendra Chahal — picked in the playing XI — wasn’t given a single over. Not one. Mohammed Kaif called it bizarre. Piyush Chawla said it made no sense. Sanjay Bangar called it a captaincy error. Shreyas Iyer’s post-match line was somehow even more bleak: “Won’t beat around the bush, we failed badly. No excuses.” That’s the Shreyas Iyer PBKS collapse in one sentence — a captain out of answers while the Punjab Kings’ four straight losses in IPL 2026 pile up.
The on-field stuff alone would’ve been the story. Then the off-field circus opened up.
When the Vlog Camera Caught Everything
A clip from Arshdeep Singh’s team vlog went viral — Chahal appearing to vape on the team flight from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad. PBKS immediately banned Arshdeep from vlogging for the rest of the season. The BCCI issued an advisory to every team about social media conduct.
Then the rumours started. Prabhsimran Singh had gained 10 kilos, social media claimed. Internal rifts, social media claimed. A toxic dressing room, social media claimed. Prabhsimran responded by posting a shirtless photo near Bhagsu Nag waterfall in Dharamsala with a shushing emoji. Subtle.
Preity Zinta wasn’t subtle. The co-owner went on Instagram on May 13 calling out “calculated misinformation” and “fake narratives,” warning of legal action — the Preity Zinta PBKS fake narratives IPL drama adding another layer to an already surreal month. PBKS then issued a formal franchise statement defending Chahal and Prabhsimran by name. A mid-season official statement to defend your players against rumours isn’t normal. It’s a franchise firefighting on a wing it didn’t know it had.
The drama would be funny if the cricket weren’t on fire.
Tonight in Dharamsala or the Math Gets Ugly
Here’s where PBKS actually are. Still fourth. Still in the playoff conversation. The early-season buffer is doing all the work — the math says they need at least two wins from their remaining three matches to control their own qualification.
The good news? Tonight’s PBKS vs MI Dharamsala must-win in IPL 2026 is against an already-eliminated MI. The better news? Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav didn’t even travel with the squad — both stayed back in Mumbai. If there was ever a fixture for breaking a four-match skid, it’s a depleted MI on a ground PBKS technically call home.
The bad news? PBKS just lost in Dharamsala. The team that chased 265 in 18.5 overs can’t defend 210. The team that was unbeaten through seven matches has forgotten how to win one.
Twelve days ago, PBKS were rewriting record books. Tonight, they’re playing to save a season that looked unloseable. The PBKS IPL 2026 collapse losing streak went from unthinkable to inevitable in under two weeks. Same team. Same season. Different sport entirely.