According to several posts floating on X (formerly, Twitter) the Punjab Kings player Marco Jansen has unfollowed several key players from the franchise including skipper, Shreyas Iyer. It is being noted
that Jansen has also unfollowed the franchise’s social media handle on Instagram. The rumours came to light as many fans were disappointed with the player’s performance and wanted the team to drop him for the remaining matches.
Jansen has conceded a high number of boundaries (63 boundaries) this season. This has made him a prime target for fan-page criticism and manufactured digital drama. A large segment of Punjab Kings fans heavily blame Marco Jansen for the team's struggles during the IPL 2026 season.
Despite being a prime bowler for South Africa, Jansen was unable to leave his impact during IPL 2926 which led to widespread criticism from both fans and cricket pundits. Fans also argued that keeping Jansen a regular in the squad, was wasting an overseas spot as he wasn't able to contribute to the team.
He leaked a massive number of boundaries throughout the season, which triggered waves of social media trolling after tough losses to teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad (where he gave away 61 runs) and Mumbai Indians (55 runs). Angry fan pages frequently demanded that he be benched in favor of domestic option Vijaykumar Vyshak or fellow overseas all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai.
PBKS eliminated from IPL 2026 playoffs after flying start to tournament
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) were officially knocked out of the IPL 2026 playoffs race following an unprecedented mid-season collapse. Despite launching their campaign as the tournament's most dominant side with a 7-match unbeaten streak (6 wins, 1 No Result), the team suffered a historic downward spiral.
Their final elimination was sealed on May 24, 2026, when the Rajasthan Royals secured a victory over Mumbai Indians, locking PBKS out of the top 4 spots on points difference. PBKS became the first team in global T20 history to lose 10 different matches while defending a 200+ total. The bowling unit completely fell apart in the death overs.
Overseas spearheads like Marco Jansen and domestic bowlers could not execute yorkers or variations, making them incredibly easy to predict and smash on flat Indian pitches.
You cannot win championships if you drop catches, and PBKS statistically had the lowest catch-conversion rate of the season.They dropped crucial, match-turning catches off big hitters like Heinrich Klaasen and Suryakumar Yadav.
These dropped chances directly allowed opposition teams to pull off massive, improbable run chases during PBKS's 6-match losing streak. While the bowling bled runs, the batting order became incredibly top-heavy. Skipper Shreyas Iyer carried the entire team on his back.
Even in their final match against Lucknow Super Giants, it required a superhuman, unbeaten 101 off 51 balls* from Iyer just to give PBKS a fighting chance. When Iyer didn't score big in the middle phase of the tournament, the rest of the batting line-up collapsed under pressure.
