Ponting Left Alone on Punjab Kings Bench After Sixth Straight Loss – Ashwin Blames Venue Mix-Up
Punjab Kings coach Ricky Ponting was left to ponder his team’s collapse after Sunday’s defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the franchise’s sixth consecutive loss in IPL 2026. The result has left Punjab teetering on the edge of elimination from the playoff race, and cameras caught Ponting sitting alone on the bench in Dharamshala as the match ended — a moment former India all‑rounder Ravichandran Ashwin called “powerful.”
On his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin said the image of Ponting seated against the Dharamshala mountains was striking and said he felt for both Ponting and captain Shreyas Iyer. But Ashwin placed responsibility on Punjab Kings for their current predicament, pointing to the decision to split home matches between Mullanpur and Dharamshala.
“You were in a position to push for the top two, but now you must be asking where it went wrong,” Ashwin said. “I sat in the same chair in 2018. The three or four champion teams do not play at different home venues. You won consistently in Mullanpur, then moved to Dharamshala and lost three straight home games.”
Ashwin argued that differences in pace and bounce between the two venues, driven partly by altitude, have unsettled players – including overseas recruits. He noted Punjab’s familiarity with Mullanpur, where they defended 220 against SRH, and criticised the franchise’s choice to prioritize business interests by using multiple home grounds.
“These are young players. If you had won even one of these home games, you would be in a much stronger position,” Ashwin said. “Making pitches is one thing, but getting used to conditions is another. If you want to win and qualify, you cannot leave your home ground.”
Punjab Kings now travel to Lucknow for their final league game against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium, a ground considered challenging for batters. With the playoff race tightening, Ponting and Iyer face one last chance to turn the season around.
