Ponting Demands Peak Fitness from PBKS Squad Ahead of IPL 2026 Opener

PBKS, the last year's runners-up, will be starting off their season against 2022 champions Gujarat Titans (GT) at New Chandigarh on March 31. Last year, PBKS emerged as a formidable unit under the leadership of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ponting, but six runs became the separation point between them and their maiden IPL title as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended their 18-year wait at Ahmedabad.

Speaking during the training, as quoted by the PBKS press release, Ponting said, "This is training, this is preparation. This is about getting ourselves physically, technically and mentally right for that first game on the 31st. I want you to think back and think what you brought to this team last year and that made us a good team."

Ponting also acknowledged that mistakes will be made throughout the campaign by everyone, including him, but sticking to the game plan is important.

"We all make mistakes. That is fine. I will make mistakes on the way through this. You will all make mistakes, you will drop a catch, you will play bad shots, you will bowl a bad over. But as long as you are sticking to what you know and what your game plan is, if you make a mistake, doing that in my eyes is not a mistake. It is just what happens in the game, it is a part of the game," he added.

Punjab Kings full squad for IPL 2026: Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Cooper Connolly (Rs 3 Cr), Pravin Dubey (Rs 30 lakh), Vishal Nishad (Rs 30 lakh), Ben Dwarshuis (Rs 4.40 Cr).

- ANI