No Bengaluru Final: BCCI moves IPL 2026 decider to Ahmedabad in late venue change
BCCI stripped Bengaluru of IPL 2026 Final and handed hosting rights to Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, citing the Karnataka cricket body's failure to meet established guidelines. Dharamshala and New Chandigarh will host the playoff fixtures.
Bengaluru will not host the Indian Premier League 2026 Final. The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed on Wednesday that the Karnataka State Cricket Association failed to satisfy certain conditions required to stage the season finale, prompting a reassignment of hosting rights to Ahmedabad for the fourth time in five years.
The decision is particularly pointed given that the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is the home ground of defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who currently sit at the top of the IPL 2026 standings with 13 points from the league stage.
Why Bengaluru Lost the IPL 2026 Final
The BCCI issued a formal statement explaining the venue shift, confirming that the local association's demands exceeded what the board considers permissible under its own framework.
"Bengaluru was originally designated to host the Final. However, owing to certain requirements from the local association and authorities that were beyond the scope of BCCI's established guidelines and protocols, the venue has been shifted and reassigned," the BCCI statement read.
The board described the three-venue playoff arrangement as a special case adopted specifically for this season.
Ahmedabad Confirmed as IPL 2026 Final Venue on May 31
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the world's largest cricket stadium, will host the IPL 2026 Final on 31 May. Ahmedabad has now become the default home of the IPL finale, having staged the decider in 2022, 2023 and 2025. Last year, Royal Challengers Bengaluru claimed their maiden title at the same venue, defeating Punjab Kings by six runs in a tightly contested summit clash.
The two sides appear set to renew that rivalry at the playoff stage, with RCB and Punjab Kings occupying the top two positions in the standings after 48 league-stage matches.
Dharamshala to Host Qualifier 1; New Chandigarh Gets Eliminator and Qualifier 2
The playoff stage opens on 26 May at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, the secondary home venue of Punjab Kings, who finished as runners-up last season. The top two sides at the conclusion of the 70-game league stage will contest Qualifier 1 there, with a direct passage to the final at stake.
The New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, Punjab Kings' primary home ground at Mullanpur, will then host back-to-back knockout fixtures. The Eliminator on 27 May will see the third and fourth-placed sides fight for survival, while Qualifier 2 on 29 May will produce the second finalist, with the Qualifier 1 loser taking on the Eliminator winner.
| POS | TEAM | PL | W | L | NR | NRR | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Punjab Kings | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0.855 | 13 |
| 2 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1.420 | 12 |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.644 | 12 |
| 4 | Rajasthan Royals | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.510 | 12 |
| 5 | Gujarat Titans | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | -0.147 | 12 |
| 6 | Chennai Super Kings | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.151 | 10 |
| 7 | Delhi Capitals | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | -0.949 | 8 |
| 8 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | -0.539 | 7 |
| 9 | Mumbai Indians | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | -0.649 | 6 |
| 10 | Lucknow SSuper Giants | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | -1.076 | 4 |
Full IPL 2026 Playoffs Schedule
Qualifier 1: 26 May, HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala
Eliminator: 27 May, New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh
Qualifier 2: 29 May, New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh
Final: 31 May, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
The BCCI confirmed that the three-venue playoff arrangement has been adopted as a special case this season, owing to the circumstances surrounding the Bengaluru reassignment.
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