IPL 2026 to begin on March 28, final slated for May 31; venue for opening tie involving RCB yet to be finalised - Report

The 2026 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin on March 28 with the final slated for May 31, read a report on Espncricinfo on Friday. Following the IPL 2026 auction last year in December, it was learnt that the tournament will begin on March 26. The report stated that the IPL has internally changed the start date two days later than what was initially planned. However, the full fixture is yet to be finalised.

The IPL Governing Council will meet next week to finalise the full fixture and also the venue for the opening clash involving defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Following RCB's victory celebrations last year at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, 11 people died in a stampede. As a result, the Chinnaswamy Stadium deemed unfit to host big-ticket events.

However, the Karnataka government earlier this month has cleared the Chinnaswamy Stadium to host games. Although there has been talks between the RCB authorities and Karnataka State Cricket Association for the return of IPL games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2026, nothing has been finalised yet. RCB has also shortlisted Navi Mumbai, Raipur and Pune as alternate venues for IPL 2026 home matches.

Why the IPL 2026 fixture is yet to be announced?

It's a norm in the IPL that the winning team would play the opening encounter in the upcoming season. Since the IPL became in 2008, there have been four instances when the country or any state had its assembly elections - 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024. While the whole tournament was shifted to South Africa in 2009, in the remaining three times, the schedule was announced in two parts.

It is understood that the delay in announcing the IPL 2026 schedule is because of the assembly elections in Assam, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. With Election Commission of India (ECI) yet to announce the election dates in these three dates, it is understood that the IPL Governing Council are playing the waiting game before announcing the fixture.

Who are the defending champions of IPL?

RCB are the defending champions of IPL, having won their maiden title last year, beating Punjab Kings in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Batting first, RCB rode on Virat Kohli's 43 and small contributions from captain Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone and others.

In reply, Punjab Kings fell short by just six runs, despite a fighting 61 not out off just 30 balls from Shashank Singh. It was also Punjab Kings' second loss in the final after 2014. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings remain the most successful sides in IPL with five titles each, followed by Kolkata Knight Riders, who have three titles to their name.