Punjab Kings' (PBKS) pace-bowling spearhead Arshdeep Singh has had a mixed back of season in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. While he has not been consistent enough with the ball, he has been embroiled with controversy. Arshdeep making fun of teammate Shashank Singh for not taking catches, vlogging while Yuzvendra Chahal was allegedly seen vaping on the flight to racist remark directed towards Mumbai Indians' (MI) Tilak Varma. But, the pacer has found form of late. On the eve of PBKS’ must win game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Dharamsala, their head of sports science, Andrew Leipus turned up for the pre-game press conference where he revealed that Arshdeep was not at his best physically before but has been a lot better now.
“We’ve been working together a little bit and looking at his body if there’s any restrictions in his body that might be a reason for some of his performances being up and down. We think we’ve hit on a bit of a winner there. He’s been feeling a lot better in the last couple of weeks, physically,” Leipus said.
How Arshdeep has reacted to social media rumours?
PBKS have had a topsy-turvy season. From being unbeaten for their first seven games, they have lost five on the trot. It has led to several rumours of rift in the dressing room which the PBKS have already addressed. Leipus said that social media chatter hasn’t affected Arshdeep’s behaviour in the dressing room. However, Leipus is happy with phones being taken away in the team environment. .
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“I know there’s been a bit of chatter behind the scenes of various things going on — vlogging and what not. In terms of his behaviour and attitude, Arsh is pretty much a flat line. He's not up or down. He gives his best out there. He’s a very loud person in the dressing room. That hasn't changed. He’s very calm,” Leipus claimed.
“One of the best things the ICC ever did was take phones away. When you're in that team environment, it's not an issue. It’s outside that when it becomes an issue. I've heard rumours. I think potentially it is something that needs to be addressed,” he added.
Arshdeep’s IPL 2026 numbers
Despite an inconsistent run, Arshdeep is PBKS' leading wicket-taker. He is 14th in the race for purple cap with 13 wickets from 12 games at an average of 34.30. On a pace-friendly Dharamsala track, PBKS would expect more of Arshdeep to get back to winning ways.