Punjab Kings
26 May 2026
Arshdeep Singh deleted more than 200 Instagram posts within 24 hours following Punjab Kings' playoff exit and a season defined by accumulating controversies — wiping his feed of team content, personal posts, and a viral reel with Virat Kohli, leaving behind only brand endorsements.
Punjab Kings
7 May 2026
Yuzvendra Chahal was allegedly captured vaping aboard a Punjab Kings team charter flight en route to Hyderabad ahead of the franchise's IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 6 May 2026. The footage surfaced from a behind-the-scenes vlog uploaded to social media by Chahal's PBKS teammate Arshdeep Singh, in which a figure appearing to be Chahal is visible with what observers identified as an electronic cigarette. The clip went viral within hours. Neither Chahal nor Arshdeep issued a public statement; Punjab Kings and the BCCI both remained silent. The controversy arrived just days after the BCCI had formally penalised Rajasthan Royals batter Riyan Parag for vaping in the team dressing room — and before the board had yet issued its blanket vaping ban for IPL venues.
Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians
15 May 2026
Punjab Kings fast bowler Arshdeep Singh sparked a national controversy when a video from a pre-match interaction before PBKS's IPL 2026 encounter with Mumbai Indians went viral on 15 May 2026. In the clip, Arshdeep greeted Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma by calling him "Andhere" — Hindi slang meaning "dark one" or "darkness" — before asking whether he had applied sunscreen and then holding him next to teammate Naman Dhir, saying "This is the real glow of Punjab." The remarks, directed at Tilak's dark skin tone, were condemned by former India spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan as a racial slur and generated widespread public debate about the normalisation of colourism in Indian cricket. Mumbai Indians' social media response — a viral post showing Tilak emerging from darkness — was itself criticised for amplifying rather than defusing the controversy.
Punjab Kings
1 May 2026
A 38-second clip of Punjab Kings' Arshdeep Singh roasting teammate Shashank Singh in an airport lounge became one of IPL 2026's most-shared off-field moments. The premise was Shashank's run of dropped catches across the season — including the now-notorious drop of KL Rahul on 12, who went on to make 150-plus. Arshdeep, on camera, asks Shashank to demonstrate his catching technique using a coffee cup; the bit lands, both players laugh, and the clip is uploaded by a teammate before the squad has cleared security.