Ravichandran Ashwin might see the Chennai Super Kings as the franchise closest to his heart, but he is also agonised by the troubled times the Punjab Kings have had to face recently. After going unbeaten in seven matches on the trot, PBKS went on to lose five matches in a row. Two of these matches took place in Dharamsala, their second home venue. While the likes of Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, and even Sunrisers Hyderabad — the most successful franchises in the league — continue to play all of their home matches at a single venue, Ashwin didn’t mince his words as he blasted the Punjab Kings owners to pick two different venues for the team.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Ashwin questioned why Punjab picked two different home venues while traditional top teams like CSK, KKR, MI, and SRH continue to play their home games at a single stadium.
“Let me ask you a question. KKR, CSK, and MI, the three teams that have won the highest number of trophies-3, 5, and 5-out of the 19 seasons, they have won 13 trophies in total. SRH has won two (Deccan Chargers and SRH). Take it as 15. Have these teams ever changed their home venue?” Ashwin said in the video.
“Look, we can say from the outside that Punjab aren’t doing well, but because I have personally been there, I know it is wrong. We won five matches in Mohali, then we changed venues and got knocked out of the tournament,” he added.
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Ashwin: KKR, CSK, and MI are three teams that have won a lot of trophies – between them, they hold 13 trophies. Have these teams ever changed their home venues
We can all say that Punjab is struggling with… pic.twitter.com/kXixirotiR
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Punjab find themselves in a situation where they need to win both of their remaining games to secure a top-four spot. However, one of these matches will be played in Dharamsala. Ashwin feels the venue change is to blame for the below-par performance from the Shreyas Iyer-led side, as they haven’t been able to adapt to the conditions quickly enough.
“So, I am saying that, sure, Punjab have suffered consecutive defeats, but they are not playing in Mullanpur; they are playing in Dharamsala, where the wicket is not that good to bat first on. The ball stays a little low in the first half, so it will take time for them to adapt.
“Their batting order is scoring 30-40 runs fewer, or 20 runs fewer, because they have to adapt. We can all say that Punjab are struggling and have suffered five consecutive defeats, or that ‘this is what happens in Punjab’. No, they have played two of those games at a changed home venue,” he said.
While there is little that can be done as far as the schedule for the remainder of the IPL 2026 season is concerned, Ashwin has a direct question for the organisers: why are Punjab Kings being made to shuffle across different home venues while others play at the same stadium?
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