'I was told I only want to play in IPL': PBKS all-rounder slams Chattisgarh for snub, set to debut for this team

Punjab Kings (PBKS) all-rounder Shashank Singh has accused Chattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) of not supporting him during hard times when he was injured. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) all-rounder claims that he was not given a proper explanation as to why he was not included in the player list for Chattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 and the squad for pre-season training camp. The 34-year-old pointed out that he was honoured with Lala Amarnath Award for best all-rounder in domestic cricket and wasn't just focusing on the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“I suffered serious shoulder and finger injuries last season, but the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh didn’t support me at all in this phase," he told TOI.

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“I was told that I only want to play in the IPL, and not for Chhattisgarh in domestic cricket. The reality is that just last year (in February 2025), I was adjudged as India’s best all-rounder in the white-ball circuit by the BCCI, when I was named as the recipient of the prestigious Lala Amarnath Award for the Best All-Rounder in Domestic Limited Overs Competitions for the 2023-24 season," he added.

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Shashank to play for new team this season

Shashank has already got the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the CSCS and will represent Pondicherry in the upcoming domestic season. He is among the two guest players who will don the Pondicherry jersey. The other player is Mumbai's wicketkeeper-batter Prasad Pawar.

Shashank has also decided to stay away from red-ball cricket and focus on his white-ball skipper. He has already expressed his ambitions to play for India but age may not be at his side.

Shashank’s List A and T20 career numbers

So far, Shashank has played 35 List A (One-Day) games and scored 1,054 runs, averaging 40.53. His strike rate of 109.44 is impressive. He has three tons and two fifties in the format. In T20s (including domestic T20s and franchise cricket), he has 1,763 runs from 93 innings, averaging 25.55. His T20 strike rate is 146.67. He has 11 fifties in T20s with a high score of 68 not out. With the ball, he has 37 wickets in List A, featuring a fifer and 25 wickets in T20s.

Shashank’s off-season for PBKS

Shashank wasn't at his best for PBKS in IPL 2026, managing to score just 132 runs from nine innings, averaging 22. His strike rate was 188.57, his highest in a season but he wasn't able to play the role of a finisher. His only half-century came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a losing cause. He missed a few games due to injury as well. In addition, he had a poor run in the fielding department, dropping several catches. He managed to take four wickets and conceded runs at an economy rate of 8.80 runs per over.

In the previous two seasons, he had scored 350 and 354 respectively from 14 innings each. It is yet to be seen whether PBKS retains Shashank after a lacklustre season or lets him go ahead of the mini-auction.