Punjab Kings’ downtick in form has been subjected to immense scrutiny on social media. Four straight losses have dragged last year’s runner-up to fourth place, with its players being criticised for a lack of discipline and commitment.

However, assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves on Wednesday played down any concerns over the side’s intent.

“You don’t need anyone to teach them, first of all. They are big enough; they know how to control themselves. We are more concerned about the cricketing part. You know, any blogger or any person can go and put up anything on social media. But frankly speaking, we are not too concerned about what the social media says. Now, at present, we are only concerned about tomorrow’s game and we are moving forward,” Gonsalves said ahead of Punjab Kings’ game against Mumbai Indians in Dharamshala.

He did, however, admit the need for his team to fix its fielding. PBKS has dropped 19 chances this season which has contributed to its sudden slump.

“We have dropped a lot of catches. Yes, I agree. There could be a lot of reasons (for it). The crowd behind the players, the lights. But at this elite level, those catches need to be taken. We have been dented by the dropped chances, no doubt about it. We are working very hard on it and hopefully we’ll set it right,” he said.

Punjab has also held back Yuzvendra Chahal in its recent games. The leg-spinner bowled just once against Gujarat Titans earlier this month, and was not used at all in the three-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals.

Explaining the previous game’s move, Gonsalves said: “You must have seen, Axar didn’t bowl for them either. The wicket and the weather, the conditions, everything was suiting the pace bowlers. That was the reason why we kept Yuzi. There’s no other reason for it.”

Lacking a complete performance

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Corbin Bosch said that not being able to fire on all cylinders is what compromised his sides season and led to its early exit.

“I think we just have not put in a complete performance. The bowlers will do well and then the batters struggle, or the other way round. But ultimately this team is known for winning and we have not done that this year. Maybe dropping crucial chances at crucial stages of the game, that have then swung the game in the opposite direction,” Bosch said.

Jasprit Bumrah’s struggles have been a microcosm of MI’s form this season. The pace phenom has just three wickets this year, and is set to end with his lowest wickets tally since 2015.

But Bosch revealed that despite a personal dip, Bumrah continues to drive the team forward and improve.

“Bumrah is probably one of the calmer people I’ve met. He knows that he hasn’t been his best but Bumrah is a class above the rest. His economy must be eight, eight and a half – a lot of people, myself included, would definitely take that.

“You can just see the standards he sets for himself, he’s still probably up there with the best in the competition in terms of economy. He’s a fantastic cricketer, a fantastic person to be around. He’s light-hearted, he makes lots of jokes and he keeps the changing room on their toes,” Bosch said.

Published on May 13, 2026