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Arshdeep Singh found himself in a bit of heat after a Snapchat thing showed up before Punjab Kings’ IPL 2026 clash vs Mumbai Indians. So you know, he posted a story earlier, a picture with Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma, and then he used the word “andhera” , which people immediately started throwing shade at him about.

After that, the talk went big online, like really fast. Many fans accused him of saying something racist, and the whole thing became a full-on discussion point across social media. And then, as the criticism kept building, Punjab Kings finally stepped in with a public response, just to cool it down.

Punjab Kings’ head of sports science, Andrew Leipus, brought it up during a press conference. He basically said that inside the dressing room, Arshdeep’s mindset is still normal, like nothing “real” has changed even with all the noise outside.

Andrew Leipus said:

“I don't follow a lot of social media myself, so I know there's been a bit of chatter behind the scenes of various things going on, vlogging and whatnot. I'm not across that. In terms of his behaviour, Arsh is pretty much a flat line. He's not up or down.”

During the same media interaction, Andrew Leipus also hinted that Arshdeep Singh had been dealing with some sort of physical issues during IPL 2026. Leipus said these problems might have played a role in how Arshdeep performed in a few matches.

He added:

“He gives his best out there. We've been working together a little bit, and looking at his body, there may be restrictions that could be a reason for some of his performances being up and down. We think we've hit on a bit of a winner there.”

Leipus then explained that over the last few weeks, Arshdeep has looked better, physically speaking. He also added that the fast bowler stays positive around the squad, like in that energy sense, he’s still the same person.

He further said:

“He's been feeling a lot better in the last couple of weeks, physically. Overall, he's pretty consistent with his behaviour and his attitude. He's a very loud person in the dressing room. That hasn't changed. He's not up and down. He's very calm.”

Even though Leipus didn’t name the exact injury or issue, the message was pretty clear, that Arshdeep might have been managing discomfort during parts of the tournament.

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And while all this was happening, Punjab Kings themselves are struggling in IPL 2026 too. They started the season well, but then things turned, and they ended up losing five matches in a row, which really hurt their chances of making the playoffs.

Right now, Punjab Kings sit at 13 points, with only two league games left. So yeah, they need wins in both matches if they want to keep the playoff hopes alive.

Next up for them is Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending champions and also the table-toppers, and the game is in Dharamsala. But the thing is, PBKS have already lost both their earlier matches at that venue this season, so it’s not exactly an easy path.

With pressure mounting on and off the field, Punjab Kings will be hoping to end the league stage strong and not let more setbacks pile up in IPL 2026.