IPL Schedule 2026: The 2026 Indian Premier League (officially known as TATA IPL 2026 and also referred to as IPL 19) is the nineteenth season of the roster Prominent Twenty20 cricket league. Held by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the tournament will be played between March 28 and May 31, 2026, and it has also increased the number of matches to a whopping 84, up from IPL 2025’s 74 matches.
Due to a change in the format, which was launched by the IPL Governing Council this season, limiting the number of teams during group stages and introducing helping factors for more fixtures. The council also announced that the tournament will expand further, to 94 matches starting in 2028, when a full double round-robin format last used in 2021 will return.
Entering the 2026 season, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the defending champions after winning their first IPL title in 2025 against the Punjab Kings. Due to this, Bengaluru will also be home to both the opening ceremony and grand final in this edition of Major Series, which makes it a special moment not just for RCB but for its fans as well.
Only the initial stage of the schedule (Matches 1–20, taking place between March 28 and April 12) was announced by the BCCI as assembly elections are scheduled in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The full schedule for the rest of the season will be released after poll dates are announced by the Election Commission of India.
Key Tournament Dates at a Glance
| Event | Date | Details |
| Tournament Kick-off | March 28, 2026 | RCB vs SRH, Bengaluru |
| Phase 1 End | April 12, 2026 | 20 matches completed |
| Phase 2 Schedule | TBA | Subject to election dates in Assam, WB & TN |
| Playoffs Begin | May 26, 2026 | Top 4 teams |
| Qualifier 1 | May 26, 2026 | 1st vs 2nd |
| Eliminator | May 27, 2026 | 3rd vs 4th |
| Qualifier 2 | May 29, 2026 | Loser of Q1 vs Winner of Eliminator |
| Grand Final | May 31, 2026 | Bengaluru (defending champions’ home) |
Tournament Format & Structure
IPL 2026 comprises 10 franchises that battle it out in a total of 84 matches. The first stage of the league is 80 matches, with each team playing in 16 games, half at home and half away. After the league phase, the top four teams progress to the playoff rounds, which consist of Qualifier 1, the Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and the Grand Final.
This is the playoff structure: The top two teams contest Qualifier 1, with the winner going straight to the final. The Eliminator is between the third and fourth-placed teams. The loser of Qualifier 1 plays the winner of the Eliminator as well in Qualifier 2 for the final berth in the playoffs. The match timings are pretty standard, double-header afternoon games start at 3:30 PM IST, and evening matches begin at 7:30 PM IST.
This season, a total of 18 venues are proposed across India. Some franchises will play their home matches at two different stadiums. RCB will play 5 matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru and 2 at Raipur, while Punjab Kings will play 4 games in New Chandigarh and as many (3) in Dharamshala discoing all other franchises other than Rajasthan Royals, who facilitate their home matches at Guwahati which is considered a neutral venue for them (3), along with Jaipur (4).
The 10 Franchises – Teams, Captains & Home Grounds
| Team | Code | Captain | Home Ground | Notable Fact |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | RCB | Faf du Plessis | M. Chinnaswamy / Raipur | Defending Champions |
| Mumbai Indians | MI | Hardik Pandya | Wankhede Stadium | 5-time Winners |
| Chennai Super Kings | CSK | Ruturaj Gaikwad | MA Chidambaram Stadium | 5-time Winners |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | KKR | Shreyas Iyer | Eden Gardens | 3-time Winners |
| Rajasthan Royals | RR | Riyan Parag | Jaipur / Guwahati | Inaugural Champions |
| Delhi Capitals | DC | Axar Patel | Arun Jaitley Stadium | 2 Finals |
| Punjab Kings | PBKS | Shikhar Dhawan | New Chandigarh / Dharamshala | Runners-up 2025 |
| Gujarat Titans | GT | Shubman Gill | Narendra Modi Stadium | 2-time Winners |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | SRH | Pat Cummins | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Stadium | 2-time Winners |
| Lucknow Super Giants | LSG | KL Rahul | Ekana Stadium | Founded 2022 |
IPL 2026 Phase 1 Schedule – Match Fixtures (March 28 – April 12)
The BCCI formally announced the first 20 matches of the season. The first batch comprises 16 days of cricket at 10 different venues. There are four doubleheaders on April 4, April 11, and April 12, where fans can catch two games in one day. All the timings mentioned below are as per Indian Standard Time (IST)
| # | Date | Match | Venue | Time (IST) |
| 1 | Sat, 28 Mar | RCB vs SRH | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | 7:30 PM IST |
| 2 | Sun, 29 Mar | MI vs KKR | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 7:30 PM IST |
| 3 | Mon, 30 Mar | RR vs CSK | Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati | 7:30 PM IST |
| 4 | Tue, 31 Mar | PBKS vs GT | PCA Stadium, New Chandigarh | 7:30 PM IST |
| 5 | Wed, 01 Apr | LSG vs DC | BRSABV Ekana Stadium, Lucknow | 7:30 PM IST |
| 6 | Thu, 02 Apr | KKR vs RCB | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 7:30 PM IST |
| 7 | Fri, 03 Apr | CSK vs MI | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 7:30 PM IST |
| 8 | Sat, 04 Apr (DH) | DC vs MI | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi | 3:30 PM IST |
| 9 | Sat, 04 Apr (DH) | GT vs RR | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | 7:30 PM IST |
| 10 | Sun, 05 Apr | SRH vs PBKS | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Stadium, Hyderabad | 7:30 PM IST |
| 11 | Mon, 06 Apr | LSG vs KKR | BRSABV Ekana Stadium, Lucknow | 7:30 PM IST |
| 12 | Tue, 07 Apr | CSK vs RCB | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 7:30 PM IST |
| 13 | Wed, 08 Apr | MI vs GT | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 7:30 PM IST |
| 14 | Thu, 09 Apr | RR vs DC | Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati | 7:30 PM IST |
| 15 | Fri, 10 Apr | PBKS vs SRH | PCA Stadium, New Chandigarh | 7:30 PM IST |
| 16 | Sat, 11 Apr (DH) | KKR vs CSK | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 3:30 PM IST |
| 17 | Sat, 11 Apr (DH) | RCB vs LSG | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | 7:30 PM IST |
| 18 | Sun, 12 Apr (DH) | GT vs DC | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad | 3:30 PM IST |
| 19 | Sun, 12 Apr (DH) | SRH vs RR | Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Stadium, Hyderabad | 7:30 PM IST |
| 20 | Sun, 12 Apr | MI vs PBKS | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 7:30 PM IST |
Note: DH = Double Header. Afternoon double-header matches start at 3:30 PM IST; evening matches at 7:30 PM IST. Phase 2 schedule (Matches 21–84) to be announced after election dates are confirmed.
IPL 2026 Venues – Stadiums Across India
There are 18 proposed full-season venues, with 10 confirmed venues to be played in the first phase of the tournament. The stadiums vary from the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India’s biggest cricket ground to facelifts for newer venues, such as Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
Significantly, the matches in Bengaluru will only proceed subject to clearance from an Expert Committee formed by the Government of Karnataka. It was drafted for scheduling a meeting and inspection of M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13, 2026, in the wake of the sad stampede accident during RCB’s victory parade (March 10) in 2025 that took the lives of eleven. The clearance will only be given once a full-scale mock practice of match-day arrangements is undertaken.
| Stadium | City | Team / Usage | Capacity |
| M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | Bengaluru | RCB (5 home + 2 in Raipur) | ~33,000 |
| Wankhede Stadium | Mumbai | Mumbai Indians | ~33,000 |
| MA Chidambaram Stadium | Chennai | Chennai Super Kings | ~38,000 |
| Eden Gardens | Kolkata | Kolkata Knight Riders | ~68,000 |
| Narendra Modi Stadium | Ahmedabad | Gujarat Titans | ~1,32,000 |
| Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Stadium | Hyderabad | Sunrisers Hyderabad | ~55,000 |
| Arun Jaitley Stadium | Delhi | Delhi Capitals | ~41,000 |
| BRSABV Ekana Stadium | Lucknow | Lucknow Super Giants | ~50,000 |
| PCA Stadium | New Chandigarh | Punjab Kings (4 home + 3 Dharamshala) | ~27,000 |
| Barsapara Stadium | Guwahati | Rajasthan Royals (3 home + 4 Jaipur) | ~40,000 |
Key Storylines & What to Watch
RCB’s Title Defence
As the Royal Challengers Bengaluru search for their first trophy, the start of the 2026 season comes with the prestige of being champions after ending a long drought. And defending the title is traditionally tough in the I.P.L.; no team has won two titles in a row since Chennai Super Kings pulled off that feat in 2010 and 2011. Their first match, against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, will set the tone for their campaign, but not till they fulfil regulatory scrutiny on the venue itself.
The Jadeja-Samson Trade
Ravindra Jadeja was one of the most talked-about trades before the start of the 2026 season as he moved from Chennai Super Kings to Rajasthan Royals, while RR skipper Sanju Samson also made a switch and joined CSK. Samson, who was the Player of the Tournament in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, will bring explosive firepower to the middle-order for CSK batters. For India’s tour of Australia later this year, Jadeja’s experience and all-rounder skills would be equally important to the Rajasthan Royals, who have a youthful captain in Riyan Parag.
Cameron Green Costliest Overseas Selection
Greece-born Australian all-rounder Cameron Green was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 25.20 crore at the December 2025 evening auction in Abu Dhabi, making him the costliest foreign player of IPL ever and third overall. The auction also witnessed CSK (Chennai Super Kings) buy Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma for Rs 14.20 crore each – a joint record price for uncapped players.
Expanded Format
The 84 matches are an increase of ten matches over last season. Each team now plays 16 league matches rather than the previous maximum of 14, a change that gives franchises greater scope to recover from early missteps and rewards consistency over the duration. With a total of 18 proposed venues, this structural overhaul for IPL 2026 makes it the widest one in terms of geographical coverage by far in league history.
Political & Diplomatic Context
The entire schedule couldn’t be released in one go as assembly elections are due to be held next year in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Amid rising tensions after the 2025 Bangladesh violence, the Bangladeshi players were released from the franchise squad by the BCCI as well. It inspired plenty of commentary from both cricket administrators and politicians, and the effects may cascade into some bilateral series between India and Bangladesh in the coming days.
Conclusion: IPL Schedule 2026
IPL 2026 will be the most ambitious edition of the tournament to date, bigger in scale, richer in stories, and wider in scope. For cricket fans in India and around the world, there awaits an 84-match journey after defending champions RCB get things started against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28. From the intrigue of the Jadeja-Samson trade to a record-breaking auction, we have our cards stacked up for this season of T20 cricket.
The BCCI will announce the fixtures for the second half of the season and a complete playoff schedule after state elections conclude. The title match is set for May 31, 2026, in Bengaluru, aptly at the home of the defending champions.
