Ricky Ponting Shreyas Iyer Shashank Singh for Punjab Kings. Image Credits: AFP
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise is currently hosting an off-season camp for its players in Chandigarh, and as per PBKS bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves, head coach Ricky Ponting and captain Shreyas Iyer are being given all updates about the proceedings.
Ricky Ponting is currently in Australia on commentary duties for the ongoing two-Test series against Bangladesh, while Shreyas Iyer is having time off from cricket. Iyer will next be seen in action when India takes on Afghanistan at home in a T20I series and then the West Indies in a white-ball series.
100% in continuous touch with Ricky Ponting: PBKS bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves
Even though captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting were not physically present in New Chandigarh, their influence was felt throughout the camp. The desired news reached Australia, and the former captain of Australia closely monitored proceedings.
“100 percent. I'm in continuous touch with Ricky Ponting. He's very aware of all the things that're going on here in the camps. And he's really mindful about it. He needs to know everything. He does give his inputs, what he wants, and how he wants it done. So at the end of the day, there's a report that goes on to Ricky Ponting,” Gonsalves told Hindustan Times Digital.
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Notably, Punjab Kings had a great start to their IPL 2026 campaign, winning 6 of their first 7 games, but then went on to lose their last 6 games and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
PBKS coach on the importance of off-season training camps
The upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season will begin in eight or nine months, but teams have already started getting ready, and off-season camps are in progress. Some of the Punjab Kings' players, including Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh, recently attended a six-day camp in New Chandigarh.
Bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves oversaw the camp, which focused on forcing the players to complete fitness exercises in preparation for the demanding upcoming domestic season.
“There is nothing as off-season today in cricket. Yes, looking at the IPL, you might think cricket has come to a standstill. But it's absolutely not. We have so many T20 leagues coming up, and all our players are into it. And at the same time, in a couple of months, we have the SMAT coming up. So really, there's no off-season. And yes, as I said, it's all about keeping the players in a good frame of mind, keeping their bodies functional, ironing out their problems, working on their techniques, and keeping them in good shape,” he added.
Trevor Gonsalves explains PBKS is working on fielding skills during the off-season camp
Gonsalves also spoke on PBKS's poor fielding in the IPL 2026, where the players dropped an alarming number of catches in the tournament. He stated that the players are working hard on this aspect as well during the off-season.
“Yes, we do have a few catches. We do have a few catching and fielding issues that are going on. But we are not trying to impress upon that part of fielding. It's more of a skills-and-fitness camp. Yes, the intensity we have in batting and bowling, we are also bringing to fielding,” he added.
PBKS would love to repeat their performance of IPL 2025 when they topped the points table and stormed into the finals and almost became the IPL champions.
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