Sachin Tendulkar diagnoses Punjab Kings' Achilles' heel in IPL 2026 season: 'It boils down to process and not...'

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar examined the Punjab Kings' sudden downfall in the 2026 Indian Premier League season. He stressed that while momentum mattered in long tournaments, success depended on focusing on the process rather than just results.

Under Shreyas Iyer's leadership, Punjab started brilliantly with six consecutive wins and remained at the top of the table for weeks before a dramatic collapse in the tournament's second half. The IPL 2025 finalists finished fifth this season, missing the playoffs by just a point.

Tendulkar reflects on PBKS’ IPL 2026 season

On Reddit, Tendulkar wrote down some key takeaways from IPL 2026, including the PBKS' rapid rise and downfall in the season. He believes the franchise played with positive energy and fearless cricket, which often changed the course of matches.

He added that Punjab focused on process in the first half of the season but shifted focus more toward results in the second half, which contributed to their decline.

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"Punjab Kings brought wonderful energy to the tournament. Their cricket was positive, brave and often game-changing. Momentum plays a crucial role in lengthy tournaments. Eventually, in such a fast-moving tournament, it boils down to process and not getting attached to results. Punjab focused more on process in the first half and more on results in the second," Tendulkar wrote in a post.

Tendulkar: 'The Powerplay needs to be split'

The former Indian cricketer also reiterated his idea of introducing a bowling powerplay during matches, which could be used at any moment in an innings.

"One trend I noticed this season was how many games were decided between overs 7 and 15. Teams are now far better prepared for powerplays and death overs than before. I feel, the Powerplay needs to be split into 2 parts. (First 4 overs as the batting powerplay and 2 overs of bowling powerplay which could be utilized at any point in the innings)

If implemented, this could become the most strategic phase of T20 cricket," Tendulkar added.

The IPL 2026 season concluded with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeating the Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to become back-to-back title winners.