There are almost eight to nine months before the start of the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season, but franchises have already begun preparations, and off-season camps are underway. The Punjab Kings recently organised a six-day camp for some of its players, including Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh, in New Chandigarh. The camp was overseen by bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves, and it was all about making the players go through the fitness routines ahead of the gruelling domestic season coming up.
Head coach Ricky Ponting and captain Shreyas Iyer might not have been in New Chandigarh in person, but their presence was felt during the camp. The former Australia captain kept a close eye on developments, and the desired reports made their way Down Under.
Speaking of the Punjab Kings, the wheels came off for the franchise in the latter half of the IPL 2026 season, and the side that won their opening six matches out of seven failed to even qualify for the playoffs.
On the sidelines of the off-season camp, Hindustan Times Digital caught up with PBKS bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves, who spoke about the routines players were made to go through and why such camps are organised by IPL franchises.
Excerpts:
Can you give us an insight into what goes on in the off-season camp? Why is it necessary for the players to stay in the best shape?
{{/usCountry}}On the sidelines of the off-season camp, Hindustan Times Digital caught up with PBKS bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves, who spoke about the routines players were made to go through and why such camps are organised by IPL franchises.
Excerpts:
Can you give us an insight into what goes on in the off-season camp? Why is it necessary for the players to stay in the best shape?
{{/usCountry}}There is nothing as off-season today in cricket. Yes, looking at the IPL, you might think cricket has come to a standstill. But it's absolutely not. We have so many T20 leagues coming up, and all our players are into it. And at the same time, in a couple of months, we have the SMAT coming up. So really, there's no off-season. And yes, as I said, it's all about keeping the players in a good frame of mind, keeping their bodies functional, ironing out their problems, working on their techniques, and keeping them in good shape.
And because we are also running a fitness camp along with these skill camps. So that's the reason these camps are absolutely important. And I really don't see an off-season camp. There's nothing as off-season in cricket as of today.
Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting are the two linchpins for PBKS. How involved are they with their inputs during the off-season? And do you rely on their feedback during this phase?
100 per cent. I'm in continuous touch with Ricky Ponting. He's very aware of all the things that're going on here in the camps. And he's really mindful about it. He needs to know everything. He does give his inputs, what he wants, and how he wants it done. So at the end of the day, there's a report that goes on to Ricky Ponting.
PBKS was looking like the team to beat this season as well. But the wheels sort of came off in the final phase. Three months have passed now. Have you been able to pinpoint what exactly went wrong?
As for what happened last time, we won the first six games pretty comfortably. And then we managed to lose six games. There's nothing that really went wrong. It is just that the other teams played a little better cricket on that day. There was nothing more complacent. In the first six games, our batsmen did a fabulous job. The first four or five batsmen, they had heavy scoring.
But if you see in the remaining six games, the runs were a bit lower compared to what they had scored in the first six games. So it's not all about the bowlers. And it was just cricket. It is that those front teams played a little better cricket than we did on those days. It was heartbreaking. But that is how it goes.
As a key member of the coaching staff, are there any particular areas that you want to work with the players in this camp, or is it a routine case of keeping the players in the best shape?
There's nothing specific going on with it. We are more player-centred and player-oriented as to what he wants. Like a person like Prabhsimran, who's just been back from the Zimbabwe tour or the tour that he's been involved in, and he's getting into the Sher-e-Punjab tournament, he has something different on his mind. So we were helping him. We are trying to keep them in a good mindset.
There are a few players who will be back to playing the SMAT very soon and are playing in the state leagues. So it's all about facilitating them and keeping them in a good mind. There's nothing too specific about it. But it's all in consultation with our head coach, Ricky Ponting.
In the 2026 campaign, fielding became a major cause of concern. Even though it's an off-season camp, is there a focus on this department of the game?
Yes, we do have a few catches. We do have a few catches and fielding issues that're going on. But we are not trying to impress upon that part of fielding. It's more of a skills-and-fitness camp. Yes, the intensity we have in batting and bowling, we are also bringing to fielding.
Why is this off-season training camp and conditioning routine necessary for the teams? Can you shed light on the exact work that goes on behind the scenes?
The players are continually playing cricket. Now you are seeing it only while playing the IPL. But I'm seeing it as the SMAT is coming up. The state leagues are on. Punjab goes into the big league as Sher-e-Punjab in a few days' time.
The Kerala Premier League is up. The UPL league is about to start. These are some big leagues that all our players are playing. And we need to keep them in the best frame of mind. It is when the players play these tournaments and do well that they come into the camps closer to the IPL as a more motivated lot. So this camp is as important as any other camp for me or for any of the franchisees.
The franchise has been very hell-bent on us, saying we have to go into camps and keep everybody in a very good frame of mind, good posture, and a good outlook.