Punjab Kings assistant coach Brad Haddin has shed light on the chaotic nature of the Indian Premier League ahead of the upcoming 2026 season. The former Australian wicket-keeper bat reckons the fanfare amid the tournament is carnage as the Indian crowd turn up in huge numbers for the matches.

Not only for the matches, Haddin said almost 15,000 wait on the streets to catch a glimpse of their favorite players, including Arshdeep Singh and Shreyas Iyer.

Meanwhile, Punjab Kings had a successful season in IPL 2025, qualifying for the final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru but they could not cross the last hurdle against Rajat Patidar’s team. The team’s head coach Ricky Ponting had played an instrumental role in the franchise’s success.

“We had a really successful year last year, Ricky Ponting came into the Kings franchise, and put his mark on it straightaway. We have uncovered some superstars of Indian cricket, they stood up, and now we have the opportunity to build on that,” Brad Haddin said on the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast.

“Well, it’s carnage, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. It is an exciting chaos, that is a way to look at it. Every game means so much to so many people. You are playing in front of a packed crowd, but you are also driving through another 15,000 people on the streets just wanting to get a glimpse of Arshdeep Singh or Shreyas Iyer. They are just superstars of the game over there,” Haddin said.

Meanwhile, Iyer scored 604 runs in 17 matches of IPL 2025 at an average of 50.33 and a blistering strike rate of 175.07 as he led from the front.

Punjab Kings will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Gujarat Titans at Mullanpur on 31st March.