IPL franchise Punjab Kings have issued an official statement regarding the recent controversies revolving around their fast bowler Arshdeep Singh.
Until a few months ago, Arshdeep used to be a fan favourite on social media for his humorous demeanour and general wittiness. Now, though, his own joyful personality seems to have come back to bite him.
Most recently, Arshdeep Singh came under fire for making colourist remarks against his India teammate and fellow World Cup winner Tilak Varma.
Arshdeep Singh's controversies in IPL 2026
Just like Punjab Kings, Arshdeep Singh has also found himself in multiple controversies through the course of IPL 2026. First, it was alleged that he and PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer had a verbal altercation at the airport, then, a viral video showed Arshdeep sitting with his rumoured girlfriend, Samreen Kaur, in the Punjab Kings team bus despite the BCCI ordering players and teams not to do so.
Arshdeep Singh was also asked by his franchise to cut down on the vlogging.
The latest controversy, though, came in another viral video. In a video originally posted to Arshdeep's Snapchat account, he was heard referring to the dark-skinned Tilak Varma as 'Andhera' (darkness).
Arshdeep received a lot of flak for his 'casual colourist' remarks. Netizens were quick to point out that Arshdeep Singh has been a repeat offender in this regard, having made similar remarks against both Sai Sudharsan and Sakib Hussain.
"He's a loud person in the dressing room" - PBKS physio
On the eve of PBKS' clash against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamsala on Sunday, Andrew Leipus, PBKS' Head of Sports Science, attended the pre-match press conference for his team.
When asked about the Arshdeep issue, he said that he didn't really follow social media and talked about how the left-arm pacer gave his all on the field.
“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."
"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 told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
“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,” he added.
"Social media is a problem" - Andrew Leipus
However, Leipus admitted that social media was becoming a problem for young players these days, and said that he doesn't really have the time to deal with any rumours that might be floating around.
“I'm old. I don't really partake in a lot of social media. You can check my name out there. I'm probably the wrong person to be asking. You look across every team, you'll see guys are sitting there on their phones in the buses. There's not a lot of chatter going on. It is a problem, I think. I've got young kids. I'm trying to steer them away from it,” said Leipus.
"On the other side of the coin, you've got a lot of commercial operations going on there. You've got to find that right balance. One of the best things the ICC ever did was take phones away. When we go into the dressing room, guys can start talking again."
"When you're in that team environment, it's not an issue. It's outside that when it becomes an issue. I've heard rumours, but I don't really have time to pay attention to that. I think it's potentially something that needs to be addressed," he added.
Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin tears into Preity Zinta, says it would be her fault if PBKS fail to qualify
