The <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-irfan-pathan-urges-arshdeep-singh-to-focus-on-paying-attention-to-statistics-with-new-ball-23622554" rel="nofollow">IPL 2026</a> is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections.
Ahead of the league, former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Punjab Kings' (PBKS) Shashank Singh by saying he played a crucial role for the franchise in the previous season.
"The way Shashank has been batting over the past period, and especially his performance last year, he played a crucial role and contributed significantly to Punjab's success. Of course, we talk about the players scoring 500-600 runs, like Prabhsimran, Shreyas Iyer, or Priyansh Arya," he said.
The former cricketer then said that Shashank's confidence drives him forward and also stated that if the 34-year-old continues to deliver similar performances in the upcoming edition, he could then play big <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-sunrisers-hyderabad-ishan-kishan-speaks-about-his-captaincy-style-ahead-of-season-23622564" rel="nofollow">cricket</a>.
"But the runs Shashank scored, around 350, were just as crucial because he came in different situations and positions where confidence was key. Many times, you may fail while attempting big shots, but Shashank's confidence drives him forward. If he performs similarly this season, we could see him play big cricket in the future," said Pathan.
PBKS will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-head-coach-ashish-nehra-speaks-about-gujarat-titans-approach-ahead-of-season-23622389" rel="nofollow">Gujarat Titans</a> (GT) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.
<h2>IPL 2026, Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans: Full Squads</h2>
Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shashank Singh, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shreyas Iyer, Ben Dwarshuis, Vishnu Vinod (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Harpreet Brar, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Cooper Conolly, Mitchell Owen, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Vishal Nishad.
Gujarat Titans: Ishant Sharma, Jos Buttler (WK), Jason Holder, Jayant Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Tewatia, Luke Wood, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Shubman Gill (C), Tom Banton (WK), Yarra Raj, Anuj Rawat, Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Arshad Khan, Nishant Sandhu, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma.
(With ANI Inputs)

PBKS will begin IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium

IPL 2026 | `The runs Shashank scored, around 350, were just as crucial...`: Irfan Pathan

IPL 2026: Navdeep Saini set to replace Harshit Rana at Kolkata Knight Riders

PBKS will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh

IPL 2026: Irfan Pathan heaps praise on Punjab Kings' Shashank Singh

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