Star Punjab Kings (PBKS) all-rounder Shashank Singh has denied allegations that he or his family held a man as hostage or assaulted him, saying that the individual was pretending to be a cook. Shashank further claimed that his family believes the man may have come to their home with the intention of committing theft.
In his complaint, 31-year-old cook Vipendra Singh Tomar claimed that he faced verbal abuse while working at Shashank's residence. He further claimed that the things took a serious turn after he informed the family of his decision to quit the job.
Shashank Singh breaks silence
In a conversation with ANI, the star PBKS batter claimed that he never held Tomar as hostage, as he himself came to him claiming to be a cook. According to Shashank, Tomar was just pretending to be a chef as he did not know how to cook and spent his time taking videos and photographs instead.
While continuing further, Shashank Singh revealed that given Tomar's behaviour, he began to doubt his intentions. As per Shashank, Tomar had an intention of stealing, but luckily nothing seems to be missing as of now. However, the Ratibad Police initiated a legal process after receiving a complaint from Tomar. Hailing from Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, he got a job at Shashank's ancestral home in Mendori village with the help of a common contact.
Reflecting on the claims of physical assault, the 31-year-old player has said that he is not someone who believes in hitting someone, as it is out of character for him. The PBKS all-rounder claims he even hates using abusive language.
“I believe anyone who knows me understands that physical altercations are completely out of character for me. I don’t even like using abusive language, so I certainly could not do something like that," said Shashank.
How Shashank Singh fared in IPL 2026?
In the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Shashank Singh endured a challenging individual while representing Punjab Kings (PBKS). In 12 games, the star all-rounder managed to amass only 132 runs at an average of 22.00, although he managed to boast a blistering strike rate of 188.57.
He managed to record his best score of 56 off just 27 balls in a league stage game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). With the ball he managed to take four wickets at an economy rate of 8.80, he registered his best bowling spell of 2/20 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Shashank Singh's fielding concerns in IPL 2026
Other than his roles as an all-rounder, he struggled massively with his fielding, as he had only 37.50% efficiency of catching. He dropped 5 out of 8 meaningful catching opportunities that came his way.