Is Shashank Singh Dropped For Poor Fielding Against Rajasthan Royals?

Punjab Kings have left out their primary batter Shashank Singh from the 40th match of IPL 2026 against Rajasthan Royals. Shashank has been a key part of the team over the last few seasons and his absence is seen as a big surprise.

The match, which is being played at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, promises to be a high-scoring thriller. Being one of the best finishers in IPL, Shashank could have played a big role with the bat in this game.

Is Shashank Singh Dropped Due to Poor Fielding?

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer revealed about Shashank Singh's absence from the match at the toss. It left the fans wondering why Shashank Singh is not playing today. There were speculations whether the batter has been dropped due to his below-par fielding performances in the last two games.

However, Iyer made it clear that leaving out Shashank is a forced change, which means that the batter was not fully fit for the PBKS vs RR IPL 2026 match. All-rounder Suryansh Shedge has been roped in as Shashank Singh replacement for this match.

Shedge is a quality all-rounder, who is known for his hard-hitting. While playing for Mumbai, he has been exceptional in domestic white-ball cricket. He has played for Punjab Kings before and will be aiming to cement his place here. Punjab, who are at the top of the IPL points table currently, will hope for a power-packed performance from him.

Shashank Singh's Struggled On the Field

The tournament hasn't been the best for Shashank Singh so far. He hasn't got many opportunities with the bat, having scored just 70 runs in three innings. However, the focus has been on his fielding, where he has struggled.

During the match against Lucknow Super Giants, he dropped three sitters, however, it didn't hurt Punjab as they were already in a dominating position. In the next game against Delhi Capitals, Shashank dropped another simple chance to give KL Rahul the reprieve.

This proved to be costly in the end as Rahul, one of the best batsmen in IPL, showed his full range and went on to play a historic knock of 152* off just 67 balls. However, Punjab created history by with the highest run chase in IPL history. Despite all the dropped chances, the Kings will hope for Shashank to be fit as he will be key for them in the upcoming matches.