With less than 20 days to go, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released the schedule for the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). According to the reports, IPL 2026 is scheduled to start from March 28 to May 31.
BCCI is expected to release the official IPL schedule in two phases due to upcoming state assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. A similar approach was adopted in 2024 when the tournament calendar had to be released in phases because of the Lok Sabha Elections.
The cities of Kolkata in West Bengal and Chennai in Tamil Nadu serve as home grounds for KKR and CSK, respectively. Guwahati in Assam is the secondary venue for the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The first set of fixtures is likely to cover approximately the opening 15 days. The remaining fixture will be announced later.
In 2024, with India heading into general elections, the BCCI initially unveiled fixtures for only the first two weeks. The remainder of the schedule was calibrated once polling dates were finalised, ensuring no overlap and maintaining competitive balance.
The delay in the fixture was also due to uncertainty over home venues for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Rajasthan Royals(RR). RCB has confirmed to play its five home games at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, while the two remaining home matches will be held at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur.
The IPL opening match, one playoff match and the final will also be held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
