Yuzvendra Chahal Allegedly Caught Vaping on Team Flight — Punjab Kings, IPL 2026

Vaping in cricket settings became a disciplinary issue in IPL 2026 almost overnight. Before Riyan Parag was charged on 28 April, e-cigarettes had not featured in any IPL Code of Conduct case on the public record. By the time the Chahal footage appeared in early May, the topic had become one of the season's running controversies.

India's legal position on electronic cigarettes has been complicated since the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019, which made the production, import, sale and advertisement of e-cigarettes illegal but left personal possession in a legal grey area. Sports bodies operating in India have tended to treat e-cigarettes as covered by conduct-bringing-the-game-into-disrepute provisions rather than as a criminal matter; the BCCI's subsequent blanket ban moved in the same direction.

The specific rules for aircraft differ. The DGCA's aviation regulations treat e-cigarettes as smoking devices; using them on a flight — as opposed to simply possessing one — constitutes an aviation safety offence. The distinction between Parag (dressing room, BCCI code) and Chahal (aircraft, DGCA regulations) was noted by legal commentators and made the Chahal episode potentially more serious, even if the BCCI chose to treat it as a conduct matter.

The Punjab Kings were in the middle of a difficult IPL 2026 season. With several senior players navigating form issues and an upcoming away fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad — one of the most powerful batting line-ups in the competition — the squad flew together from their base city. Arshdeep Singh, the team's most prominent fast bowler and a social media presence with millions of followers, posted what appeared to be a routine behind-the-scenes travel vlog. It was not routine for long.

The screenshot that triggered the controversy showed a figure in the frame of Arshdeep's vlog holding what appeared to be an e-cigarette. The figure was identified as Chahal by multiple social media users comparing physical features and seating position. Within the hour, cricket reporters had framed it as a direct sequel to the Parag case and speculated about a second BCCI Code of Conduct referral.

The footage appeared in a casual team-travel vlog posted by Arshdeep Singh on his social media accounts, capturing what appeared to be the Punjab Kings squad relaxing aboard their charter ahead of the Hyderabad fixture. An X (Twitter) user clipped and posted a screenshot from the vlog, identifying Chahal and pointing to what appeared to be an e-cigarette in his hand. Within minutes, the post had been shared thousands of times and mainstream cricket media had picked up the story.

The timing was significant. The BCCI had, just days earlier, charged Riyan Parag with a Level 1 Code of Conduct offence — specifically Article 2.21, covering conduct bringing the game into disrepute — for vaping in the Rajasthan Royals dressing room during a match on 28 April. That case had drawn considerable media attention and had put the topic of e-cigarettes in IPL settings squarely on the public radar. The Chahal footage, arriving in that context, was immediately framed as evidence that the Parag case had not been a one-off.

There was a further legal dimension that distinguished the Chahal incident from Parag's. Vaping in the Rajasthan Royals dressing room was a Code of Conduct matter; vaping aboard a commercial or charter aircraft is a potential civil aviation offence under Indian DGCA regulations, which classify electronic cigarettes as prohibited items on aircraft. The DGCA was reportedly asked to look into the matter by several media outlets, though no formal investigation was confirmed.

The subplot that drew almost as much attention as the incident itself was Arshdeep's response to the original post. Arshdeep, who had uploaded the vlog, was reported by multiple media outlets to have quietly cropped or edited the relevant clip out of his social media upload after the screenshot began circulating — an action that, if true, attracted its own criticism. Arshdeep denied tampering with the original post but did not explain the discrepancy.

“The ban applies across all IPL venues, including dressing rooms, dugouts, team hotels, and practice facilities.”

“E-cigarettes are prohibited devices under DGCA aviation regulations. Their use on a flight is not just a code of conduct matter.”

The BCCI's response was indirect but significant. Within weeks, the board announced a blanket prohibition on vaping across all IPL venues — covering dressing rooms, dugouts, team hotels, and practice facilities. The ban was presented as a general player-welfare and conduct measure rather than as a specific response to either the Parag or Chahal incidents, but the timing left no one in doubt about its origins.

Punjab Kings' silence was itself a story. The franchise, already under scrutiny for Arshdeep's colourism remark in the same week (see related incident), found itself at the centre of two separate conduct controversies simultaneously. Several former players called for the franchise's management to issue a clear statement on conduct standards; none came.

The DGCA inquiry, if it progressed, never produced a public finding. The BCCI did not announce any Code of Conduct charge against Chahal. Whether a decision was made internally not to prosecute, or whether the footage was considered insufficient for a formal charge, was never publicly explained.