Mullanpur, April 19: In a rare moment during the Indian Premier League 2026 season, Ricky Ponting was seen visibly frustrated after a sloppy fielding effort by Shashank Singh. The incident was caught on camera and the video quickly went viral on social media. Ponting's reaction came after Shashank Singh dropped an easy catch of Aiden Markram during the PBKS vs LSG clash at Mullanpur on Sunday. However, he later hugged him after the match.
Catch Drop
The incident occurred while Arshdeep Singh was bowling the 18th over of the match and Aiden Markram played a lofted shot in the deep point region. Shashank Singh was guarding the deep point area and had already dropped a catch earlier. His confidence seemed low while he went to grab the catch.
Sloppy Effort
Shashank misjudged the catch on the boundary line and did not made any effort to reach the ball. The ball fell on the skirting and was in the range. If Shashank had tried to grab the catch, there were chances that he would have made it. However, he just let the ball past as he thought that the ball had already crossed the boundary line.
Ponting, Arshdeep Frustrated
The ball fell on the boundary cushion well within his range. The umpire gave it a six and Arshdeep Singh reacted angrily at the moment. However, when the camera was turned towards the dugout, even the head coach Ricky Ponting was frustrated with his sloppy effort in the field.
Hugs Shashank Later
However, Ricky Ponting hugged Shashank Singh after the match and captain Shreyas Iyer was jokingly hiding Shashank's face to protect him from Ponting's anger. Sarpanch Iyer tried to lighten the moment and keep everything calm and cool on the field.
Ricky Ponting had been a very good fielder during his playing days and knows very well that it would have been an easy catch if Shashank had gone for it. However, his lazy effort cost Punjab Kings six runs and the chance of getting Markram out.
Punjab Unbeaten
Ricky Ponting is the head coach of Punjab Kings and has led the team to an unbeaten start in the IPL 2026 season so far. Punjab has remained unbeaten in their first six matches of the tournament so far, including their today's match against LSG.
