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Cricket PlayersPunjab Kings' move to Dharamsala diagnosed as cause for losing streak, lack of home fortress hurts playoff chances
Punjab have lost five matches in a row, including both their games in Dharamsala thus far this season.
Punjab Kings have seen their season derailed in the last couple of weeks with five consecutive losses leaving their run in IPL 2026 in jeopardy, despite an unbeaten first half of the tournament. It has been a huge fall from grace for Shreyas Iyer’s team, as a move to Dharamsala for their last three home matches has coincided with this big losing streak.
The reasons for PBKS’ recent struggles is not a short list, but there is an argument to be made that the midseason switch of home venues has affected them adversely: while they won three matches and lost just one at their primary home in Mullanpur, they have lost both their games thus far in the Himalayas, with a third to follow against league leaders RCB on Sunday afternoon.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been part of a similar PBKS collapse in the past, was critical of the decision to commit to multiple home venues, indicating how trophy success lines up with having a consistent home fortress.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Indian spinner said: “You look at KKR, CSK, and MI, three teams which have won a lot of trophies, three five and five. Out of the 19 seasons, they have 13. SRH and Deccan Chargers have won two, combined then 15. Have these teams ever changed their home venues?”
The Wankhede, Chepauk, and Eden Gardens are iconic home venues, and their home teams being able to rely on them for a large part has undoubtedly contributed to their success: CSK and MI hold phenomenal records on home turf through the years.
PBKS struggles rise from necessity to adapt
R Ashwin reflected on the 2018 season, where Punjab had multiple wins in a row at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, before losing five games in a row at the end of the season, including multiple at Indore’s Holkar Stadium.
“We can say that Punjab, having been there personally, it is wrong. We won five games in Mohali, went to Indore and we got eliminated from the tournament,” he reflected. “So I’m saying that Punjab have lost in a row, but not in Mullanpur, they’re playing in Dharamsala, where batting isn’t that good to bat, ball is staying low. So it will take some time to get used to it.”
It isn’t all to do with any sort of home support, with PBKS becoming an increasingly popular team in recent years. However, their in-form batting has tapered off a touch recently, and Ashwin believed their second home has something to do with it.
“Their batting order is scoring 20-30-40 runs lesser because they’re having to adapt. We can say Punjab is struggling but they have played two of those games in a changed home venue. If 15 trophy winning teams can play in one venue, there is some value in that,” he concluded.
While RCB have also been forced to change home venues late in the season, both their matches in Raipur have resulted in wins. They could be the team to disprove Ashwin’s theory, as could RR, bouncing between Guwahati and Jaipur this year.
