{"id":10089,"date":"2026-05-16T01:59:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T01:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/pbks-ipl-2026-campaign-hits-a-wall-in-dharamsala-as-schedule-turns-tough"},"modified":"2026-05-16T01:59:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T01:59:57","slug":"pbks-ipl-2026-campaign-hits-a-wall-in-dharamsala-as-schedule-turns-tough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/pbks-ipl-2026-campaign-hits-a-wall-in-dharamsala-as-schedule-turns-tough","title":{"rendered":"PBKS\u2019 IPL 2026 campaign hits a wall in Dharamsala as schedule turns tough"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ask someone in Punjab about the best time to head to Himachal\u2019s hill country and you\u2019ll often hear the answer: there\u2019s never a bad moment. For a particular set of IPL 2026 hopefuls, though, the calendar has turned unfriendly\u2014because their season is already being tested in Dharamsala, and they are there at precisely the wrong point of the campaign. Punjab Kings (PBKS) had only just begun to settle into the \u201cNew Chandigarh\u201d conditions, starting to feel more comfortable about turning things around even when the toss didn\u2019t go their way. Then Dharamsala reared up as their recurring problem. The venue has been a nemesis for PBKS, with just one win in their last seven matches there since their return in 2023.<\/p>\n

Why home venues define IPL teams<\/h2>\n

The franchises that dominate in the IPL are often the ones that make their own grounds feel like fortresses. Over the years, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) built a side that looked near-unbeatable at Chepauk at their peak. Gujarat Titans (GT), widely viewed as the league\u2019s most steady performers since entering the competition, have worked extremely well in Ahmedabad; there is even a belief among some insiders that the playing surface\u2019s clay behaves differently depending on the opposition\u2019s strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n

For a long stretch, the same sort of home dominance also applied to Rajasthan Royals (RR). That changed only when Jaipur\u2019s Sawai Mansingh Stadium fell into disrepair, forcing RR to split their home matches elsewhere. Until then, they were consistently formidable at home and never far away from being a hard team to beat.<\/p>\n

When titles are won without a single fixed home<\/h2>\n

IPL history also shows that concentrating home matches into more than one venue can still end in the ultimate success. Outside CSK\u2019s triumph in 2018 and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)\u2019s title win in 2014, no other team that competed in India has played its home schedule across two venues and still lifted the trophy.<\/p>\n

In both of those title-winning cases, the teams had to move away from their usual base due to circumstances beyond their control. PBKS, RR, Delhi Capitals (DC), and now Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) remain the only franchises that continue to distribute their home games by choice.<\/p>\n

PBKS\u2019 shifting \u201chome\u201d identity\u2014and Dharamsala\u2019s impact<\/h2>\n

PBKS, previously known as Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), have long had an uneasy relationship with the idea of \u201chome.\u201d There have been seasons when they played in Mohali\u2014home to one of the biggest outfields in the country and also one of the lowest-scoring grounds\u2014while also spending time in Indore, a compact venue that has often suited extremely high totals. Managing cricket plans across such different environments has not been straightforward for the team\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

Timeline of PBKS\u2019 recent home changes<\/h3>\n