Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting had little to do but stare into the bigger picture after another painful setback in the IPL 2026 race. Following their Sunday game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamshala, PBKS slipped to a sixth straight defeat, putting them on the verge of elimination from the hunt for a top-four finish. Ponting was later seen seated by himself on the Punjab bench as the match concluded, a moment that quickly became a talking point.
Ashwin’s reaction to Ponting’s solitary moment
Former India and Punjab Kings all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin described the image as striking, calling it a “powerful picture”. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said it was emotional to watch Ponting leaning forward alone in the dugout with the Dharamshala mountains as backdrop.
While Ashwin expressed sympathy for both Ponting and captain Shreyas Iyer, he argued that Punjab Kings had contributed to their own predicament. He suggested that the franchise had been positioned to push into the tournament’s leading spots, but instead found themselves asking how things went wrong.
Why Ashwin believes the campaign unravelled
Ashwin drew on experience from 2018, when he said he was seated “in the same chair,” and used the comparison to underline his view that the franchise’s choices have mattered. He stated that champion sides typically do not perform differently merely because they are playing across varied home grounds.
He pointed to Punjab’s run of success at Mullanpur, contrasting it with what he described as a downturn after the move to Dharamshala. In his assessment, the team lost three consecutive home matches in Dharamshala, a sequence that he believes swung momentum at a crucial stage of the season.
Criticism of multiple home venues and priorities
Ashwin also questioned the decision to stage IPL 2026 home matches across more than one venue—specifically Mullanpur and Dharamshala. He further took aim at the owners, saying business considerations appeared to be placed above the franchise’s cricketing requirements during the current campaign.
He argued that conditions can shift dramatically even when the “soil is the same,” adding that pace and bounce differ between the two locations. In his view, those variations are especially significant for a side trying to consolidate points rather than chase them.
Defining the challenge as an away-style situation
Ashwin said that Dharamshala effectively functioned like an away ground for Punjab Kings, and that the team’s ability to win hinged on whether they managed even one result from the home matches in that stretch. He suggested that if PBKS had secured a single win from those games, they would have been in a very different mood at season’s end.
He also referenced Punjab’s earlier performance in Mullanpur, noting that they defended 220 against Sunrisers Hyderabad there. Ashwin stressed that Punjab’s familiarity with the venue played a role, insisting that practising at a ground before the tournament begins helps, but that it is still different to fully adjust to match-day conditions.
“You shouldn’t leave your home ground”
Continuing his critique, Ashwin said it is disappointing to see a team depart from its home base. He acknowledged that if a move is driven by commercial logic, it may be understandable from a business standpoint—but he insisted that chasing wins and qualification cannot be done while making avoidable errors.
In his closing remarks on the subject, Ashwin said Ponting and Shreyas Iyer would both feel the weight of the situation deeply, but he added that the task is “incredibly hard” once a campaign turns sour.
What comes next for PBKS
Punjab Kings will now turn their attention to their last league fixture of the season, taking on Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. Ashwin’s comments underscored the broader challenge ahead, as Ekana is widely regarded as a venue that can make life difficult for batters.
