Mullanpur and Dharamshala host the IPL 2026 playoffs, and Punjab Kings could play every game at home
The BCCI has parcelled the IPL 2026 playoffs across three venues, and the way the geography lines up is doing something the league has not seen this clearly before: the team currently sitting second in the table could still, in theory, play every single playoff game on a ground they call home. Punjab Kings sit on 13 points from ten matches, a point behind Sunrisers Hyderabad at the top. The Eliminator and Qualifier 2 will both be played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium in Mullanpur, the franchise's primary home ground. Qualifier 1 is at HPCA Dharamshala, the smaller home venue Punjab use for selected matches each season.
The schedule on paper
The schedule released by the BCCI confirms four knockouts across six days. Qualifier 1 is on Tuesday, May 26, at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, with the top two teams playing for a direct slot in the final. The Eliminator follows on Wednesday, May 27, at Mullanpur, between the third and fourth-placed sides. Qualifier 2 stays in Mullanpur on Friday, May 29, where the Qualifier 1 loser meets the Eliminator winner. The final is at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, May 31, after the BCCI moved it from M Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru due to operational and logistical considerations.
Why this matters for Punjab Kings
Most years, the playoff venues are decided well in advance and rarely overlap with a single franchise's season-long home rota. This time they do. Mullanpur, with its 38,000 capacity, has been Punjab's primary base since they shifted from the older PCA stadium in Mohali, and Dharamshala, the smallest regular IPL ground at 23,000 spectators, has hosted a slice of Punjab's home games for years.
If Punjab finish in the top two, they walk into Qualifier 1 at Dharamshala, a ground that suits their bowling attack and a venue where opposing teams have to deal with the altitude, the Dhauladhar wind, and a noticeably faster surface. Lose that match, and they shift to Qualifier 2 at Mullanpur, which is about as familiar as it gets for them. If they slip to third or fourth before the league phase ends, the Eliminator at Mullanpur is once again on home turf. The only way they take the field somewhere unfamiliar is if they make the final, by which point they will have earned the right.
The other side of the argument
Home advantage is not the trump card it used to be at IPL playoff venues. Pitches for knockouts are typically curated for fairness and television, and the surfaces at Mullanpur in particular have leaned high-scoring and even rather than offering a familiar ally to one set of bowlers. Crowd noise and travel fatigue still skew toward the home team, but the technical edge is smaller than the venue list suggests. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, sitting third on net run rate, are not far enough back to assume they will be the team Punjab face in Qualifier 1.
It is also worth saying out loud what the BCCI has not: the three-venue plan was a special case driven by the late shift away from Bengaluru, not a deliberate boost to Punjab. Both Mullanpur and Dharamshala can deliver the broadcast, security and operational standards a knockout demands, and there were not many other slots available at this notice in late May.
What to watch over the next week
With four matches left for most teams, the table is tight enough that the difference between Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator is one or two results. Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans are both on 12 points and capable of leapfrogging Punjab if results break their way. Sunrisers Hyderabad have already moved above Punjab to lead the table. The team that ends third or fourth heading into Mullanpur on May 27 will be looking up at a side that has played most of its previous home games at the same ground. Whether that is fair, an artefact of scheduling, or the kind of edge teams should plan for during the league phase will be one of the IPL 2026 conversations after the playoff bracket is decided.
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