Haddin, Thakur play down rumours as PBKS slump deepens

Brad Haddin, PBKS's assistant coach, has distanced himself from the outside noise surrounding the team, leading up to their fifth defeat on the trot in IPL 2026.

"The dressing room has been good. I'm not up with social media. So, I don't know really what the situation is there," Haddin said at the post-match press conference in Dharamsala.

"But from inside the camp, we've just got to find a way to win a cricket game. Whatever the external noise is, that's part of playing a professional sport. It's not always just about the field.

"You've got to deal with everything outside it and make sure when you get across that line you're in the right headspace to play. And that's exactly what we need to do. And now there's no talking about what ifs".

On Wednesday, Punjab Kings had posted a tweet responding to social media chatter around the team: "Criticism, banter, and opinions are part of sport. Fake stories and made-up narratives for cheap engagement are not. We urge everyone to verify facts before spreading misinformation for attention or traction".

Their latest loss has now complicated their road to the playoffs; cruising at the top at one point, they now have intense competition from Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals to hold on to the fourth spot.

Mumbai Indians might have been eliminated already, but the win would have been a welcome break for a team on the downward slide, and also dealing with its own set of social media conjecture. In Dharamsala, they were led by Jasprit Bumrah, with both Suryakumar Yadav and regular captain Hardik Pandya absent. The latter has been at the centre of plenty of speculation around his future with the team.

He missed the last two games due to back spasms, but Cricbuzz understands there's no possibility of him being traded to another franchise.

When asked if there was any weight behind the rumours, Shardul Thakur, at the post-match press conference, said that he's hopeful Pandya will be back in action soon.

"Plenty of discussions keep happening on social media, some are right, some are wrong, but these are also management decisions," Thakur said. "And if we talk about the player, Hardik had an injury, so he was not able to travel for two games. He travelled to Raipur, but was not able to play the game, now he is training in Mumbai.

Despite key resources missing, Mumbai chased down 201, with Tilak Varma starring at No.4, scoring a 33-ball 75* that took them through. With three overs to go, MI needed 50 runs, but Punjab's bowlers just couldn't get their lines right.

Haddin admitted that PBKS have succumbed to pressure lately, which has resulted in them not playing their best cricket when it mattered most.

"We just haven't been able to handle the pressure in the last few defeats," Haddin said. "We haven't played our best cricket when we need to, which has been disappointing. We're as disappointed as you guys there with the way we started the tournament and where we are now".

"The one thing to come out of it, we've got two games of cricket left and we've got to find a way. And now there's no tomorrow," Haddin added.

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