IPL 2026: Major setback for PBKS as BCCI goes brutal against Shreyas Iyer

Punjab Kings (PBKS) registered a narrow victory in their first match of the ongoing IPL 2026 tournament against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31 at the PCA New Cricket Stadium in Tira. The win proved costly for the team, as their skipper, Shreyas Iyer, will have to pay ₹12 lakh to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as his team is accused of maintaining a slow overrate in this match. 

BCCI has strict rules on maintaining the over rates to ensure every match is on time. The governing body of the league has issued an official statement, confirming the hefty fine on the PBKS leader.

PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer will have to pay a hefty fine to the BCCI

On the morning of April 1, 2026, it was learnt that BCCI has sanctioned a fine of ₹12 lakh against Shreyas Iyer as his side was found guilty of maintaining a slow over rate during their Indian Premier League 2026 fixture against the Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.

“Punjab Kings Captain Shreyas Iyer has been fined after his team maintained a slow over-rate during Match No. 4 of the TATA Indian Premier League 2026 against Gujarat Titans at the New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh,” the governing body of IPL stated officially.

The statement further mentioned that the amount of the penalty is a result of a minimum over-rate offence under Article 2.22 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct.

“As this was his team’s first offence of the season under Article 2.22 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which pertains to minimum over-rate offences, Iyer was fined ₹12 lakh,” the statement further reads.

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Will BCCI serve a ban to Iyer?

Repetition of the same offence will result in heavier fines. However, unlike the previous season, there will be no threat of getting banned for violating the same rule, as BCCI has made some major rule changes ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League season. 

As per media reports, since the beginning of the 2025 season, the board has changed the guidelines and started to give demerit points in response to offences, which is in line with the ICC's code of conduct. In the past, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya served suspensions for maintaining slow over rates in multiple matches. This year, this threat is no longer on the captains of the league.

Cooper Connolly saved the match for the Punjab Kings

Last night, PBKS managed to get a very narrow victory against GT. Australian all-rounder Cooper Connolly remained firm on the track to ensure the win. Connolly is mostly known for his spin-bowling abilities, and he can also add value with the bat. Punjab took a bet on sending Connolly to open the innings.

In his debut IPL match, the 22-year-old Aussie registered an unbeaten 72-run innings against 44 balls to make sure the team started the campaign on a positive note despite hiccups while chasing a target of 163. PBKS lost 7 wickets in the run chase, with four batters dismissed for single-digit runs each.

Captain Shreyas Iyer, who had an injury scare during the match, got only 18 off 11. But in the end, it was the runners-up of the IPL 2025 season who were able to hold their nerves and secured a crucial win. Connolly, the player of the match, hit the winning runs for the team.