PBKS management performing Havan. (PBKS)
Punjab Kings (PBKS) team management, consisting of head coach Ricky Ponting and others, performed a ‘havan’ at the New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh, ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season on Tuesday. Along with Ponting, spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule and fielding coach Brad Haddin led the ritual.
The purpose of the Havan was to seek ‘goodwill’ for the upcoming season as the franchise prepares for what is expected to be an exhilarating campaign, as stated in a release.
Also, Australian players Marcus Stoinis and Cooper Connolly have linked up with the PBKS team in Mohali. The pair showed up earlier on Wednesday to join the rest of the squad as preparations move into the final phase for the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
The players were observed in good spirits during their reception at the New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh.
The Kings, who were the runners-up last season, have been training hard over the last few weeks. The squad is now gearing up for their highly anticipated season opener against the Gujarat Giants.
The match will be played in front of their home crowd on March 31. Punjab Kings, led by Shreyas Iyer, reached the IPL 2026 finals, but faced a defeat at the hands of the Rajat Patidar-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six runs in the summit clash.
In the IPL 2025 final, RCB scored 190 runs batting first with the help of Virat Kohli’s 43 and contributions from the middle order as well. Chasing 191 for their maiden IPL title, Punjab fell short by six runs despite Shashank Singh’s 30-ball 61-run knock.
Arshdeep Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harnoor Pannu, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Owen, Musheer Khan, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shashank Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Cooper Connolly, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad, Ben Dwarshuis.
Vishal Pushkar is a Chief Sub-Editor with NewsX and has been associated with the company since March 2026. He has been working as a journalist since 2021. His experience includes working with Zee Media, Amazon and Dainik Jagran. Vishal holds a BA (English Honours) degree from Shyam Lal College, University of Delhi and a Post-Graduate Diploma from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi. Vishal has completed a beginner’s course in the German language as well.
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