Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) have been through several problems through its history as an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. While they did reach the final in IPL 2025, they have managed to enter the playoffs only three times over 18 years. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who played for the franchise in the first three seasons of the IPL (when it used to be known as Kings XI Punjab), gave a sneak peek into the problems holding the team back, even hinting at owner interference when it came to team selection.
The Punjab franchise, under the leadership of Yuvraj Singh, reached the semi-finals in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008. But things went downhill thereafter.
“There was a clear lack of coordination (during) the second year (2009), the IPL moved to South Africa, where we didn’t perform well. The first year (2008), we played the semifinal, so the leadership should have continued, but by the third year, the leadership had changed,” Pathan said on Star Sports.
“In that, there was a big issue between the coaches, what the coaches who don’t come from a cricket background were saying, and what the owners, who don’t have a cricket background, were thinking. This has been the case with Punjab,” he added.
While popular actor Preity Zinta has been the face of the Punjab Kings ownership, she actually co-owns the franchise (23%) with businessmen Mohit Burman (48%), Ness Wadia (23%) and Karan Paul (6%).
Pathan delved further into the approach of the franchise owners that could’ve caused chaos.
“I feel that, initially, the owners seemed like good owners. If you talk about one-on-one interactions, they were very good there. But internally, what was visible from the start was a lack of coordination, which greatly impacted decision-making.
“For example, if one owner says, ‘We need to field this specific team because we want results,’ and another owner says, ‘We want to play a specific combination,’ and if things don’t work out on the field, it creates a huge difference. I think, initially, that was the issue,” he added.
Pathan was a regular contributor for Punjab in his three spells at the team, taking 47 wickets in 42 games and also chipping in with a total of 603 runs.
However, he also acknowledged that the situation may have improved of late.
“Looking at the current situation, it seems things have changed a lot; they have tried to provide much more stability. But if you have changed twelve captains over so many years, it means the stability that should be there in leadership hasn’t been visible. And when there isn’t stability in leadership, players won’t feel secure. And if players aren’t secure, they won’t be able to perform in such a difficult league where the competition is always high. Until a few years ago, this was definitely an issue with Punjab,” Pathan elaborated.
PBKS will hope to build momentum heading into IPL 2026 after enjoying a successful campaign under Shreyas Iyer.