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Former Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Ravichandran Ashwin has hit out at the team owners, saying that if the team fails to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2026, it will be their fault.
What particularly irked Ashwin was the fact that Punjab Kings kept splitting their home matches between Mohali/Mullanpur and Dharamshala.
In IPL 2026, PBKS split its 7 designated home matches between two stadiums, with 4 matches being played in each of the two stadiums. 3 at the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur and 3 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.
At the time of writing, PBKS have played 6 of their 7 designated home matches, including all four in Mullanpur and 2 of 3 in Dharamshala.
PBKS struggle after great start in IPL 2026
In their first 7 matches of this season, Punjab Kings got 6 wins and one no result. They were flying at the top of the points table until a very violent crash.
After their phenomenal first half, PBKS had an even more phenomenal second half. They are currently facing five consecutive losing matches and their playoff hopes have been badly damaged.
Of these five matches, three took place on home grounds – one in Mullanpur and two in Dharamshala.
“I know it’s wrong” – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin spoke to journalist Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel and compared Punjab’s consistency with successful teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. While MI and CSK have five IPL titles each, PBKS do not have one.
“Let me ask you a question. KKR, CSK and MI, the three teams who have won the most trophies-3, 5 and 5 in 19 seasons, have won 13 trophies in total. SRH have won two (Deccan Chargers and SRH). Take that as 15. Have these teams ever changed their home venue?” Ashwin said in the video.
“Look, we can say from outside that Punjab is not performing well, but because I have been there personally, I know it is wrong. We won five matches in Mohali, then we changed the venue and were knocked out of the tournament,” he said.
Ashwin served as the captain of Punjab Kings in both 2018 and 2019, but the team failed to qualify in the top four in either year.
“He will take time to adapt” – Ashwin
After their unbeaten start to the season, Punjab Kings find themselves in a position where they need to win both their remaining matches to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Not only this, if Punjab has to make it to the last four then it will need help from other results also.
Ashwin said that failure to adapt to the new home venue was the main problem for Punjab Kings.
“So, I am saying that, of course, Punjab have suffered consecutive defeats, but they are not playing in Mullanpur; they are playing in Dharamshala, where the wicket is not that good to bat first. The ball is a bit low in the first half, so they will take time to adapt.”
He said, “Their batting line-up is scoring 30-40 runs less, or 20 runs less, because they have to adapt. We can all say that Punjab is struggling and have suffered five consecutive defeats, or ‘this is what happens in Punjab’. No, they have played two of these matches on a changed home ground.”
No permanent fort: The hidden reason behind Punjab’s struggle
Ashwin: KKR, CSK and MI are three teams who have won a lot of trophies – they have 13 trophies each. Have these teams ever changed their home grounds?
We all can say that Punjab is struggling… pic.twitter.com/kXixirotiR
– AKCricTalks (@AKCricTalks) 16 May 2026
PBKS next match in IPL 2026
Punjab Kings will be playing a repeat of last year’s final in their final league stage game. Last year’s runners-up PBKS will host defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on May 17.
If RCB beats Punjab on Sunday, they will qualify for the playoffs, while a sixth consecutive defeat is almost certain to end PBKS’s season.
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