Despite assembling a competitive squad at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction in December 2025, there remains a few concerns in the Punjab Kings (PBKS) side. With the tournament expected to begin by end of this month, there has been significant attention among cricket fans and analysts as the Shreyas Iyer-led side eye for their maiden IPL title.
The Punjab-based franchise, however, did see resurgence last season, finishing at the top of the points table in the league stage, but could not get their hands on the title. While they will look to end the trophy drought, but they have a few concerns which could see them struggle. Here in this article, we have listed as many as three weaknesses which could hamper PBKS’ campaign in IPL 2026, let’s take a look.
3 Weaknesses in PBKS camp ahead of IPL 2026
Inexperienced Indian core
One of the major weaknesses of Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2026 is the relatively inexperienced Indian core at their disposal. While the franchise has several talented domestic players, many of them are still developing and have lack long-term IPL experience. Apart from captain Shreyas Iyer, who brings leadership and significant IPL experience, Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh, most of the Indian players in the squad are still building their reputation in the league. Players like Prabhsimran Singh and Nehal Wadhera have shown promise with the bat but have yet to deliver consistent performances across multiple IPL seasons.
Lack of an experienced wicketkeeper backup
Another key concern is the lack of an experienced wicketkeeper backup in PBKS squad. In a long and demanding tournament like the IPL, teams usually rely on multiple wicketkeeping options to maintain balance and cover injuries or form issues. Currently, Prabhsimran Singh is expected to be the primary wicketkeeper for Punjab Kings. Although he has shown flashes of brilliance as an aggressive opener and wicketkeeper-batter, but the team does not have a highly experienced backup option who can seamlessly replace him if required.
Players like Vishnu Vinod are part of the squad and can perform wicketkeeping duties, they have not played many matches for PBKS in recent IPL seasons.
Difficulty in team selection due to too many overseas options available
Another important challenge for Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2026 is the presence of too many overseas options, which could make team selection difficult. While having several international stars increases squad strength, it also creates a tough decision for PBKS management to select the best four overseas players in the playing XI. The PBKS overseas players list for IPL 2026 includes several high-quality international cricketers such as Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, etc., but the IPL rule allows only four overseas players in the playing XI, making it difficult for the team to find the perfect balance.
Punjab Kings IPL 2026 Squad
Batters: Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod, Harnoor Pannu, Pyla Avinash, Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh
All-rounders: Marcus Stoinis, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Priyansh Arya, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad, Lockie Ferguson
Cricket
Predicted India Playing XI vs New Zealand: Varun Chakaravarthy dropped for Kuldeep in final?
