India, April 17 -- Is this the year for Punjab Kings? That is the question on the lips of fans of the IPL, as PBKS stretched their unbeaten run to five matches and regained the top of the table in the 2026 Indian Premier League. For the franchise with no trophies to their name, every year begins with the question of whether the team can go the distance. For the first time in many years, it feels like the answer is yes.

Punjab did reach the final in 2025, but for a young team in the first year of a fresh cycle, one they entered with a single retention in vice-captain Shashank Singh, it was a question of testing the waters and seeing how far they could actually go. It was a breath of fresh air as Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting joined force...