IPL 2026 Full Schedule: Match Dates, Venues & Timings

TATA IPL 2026 — officially IPL Season 19 — is the biggest edition of the Indian Premier League to date. For the first time in IPL history, the tournament features 84 matches across 10 teams. The action runs from March 28 to May 31, 2026, with Bengaluru hosting both the opening match and the grand final.

Whether you are tracking your favourite team, planning which matches to watch, or just need to know the next fixture, this is your complete IPL 2026 schedule guide, updated as BCCI officially announces fixtures.

IPL 2026 Key Dates at a Glance

🗓 Tournament Start — March 28, 2026

🏟 Opening Venue — M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

🏆 Final Date — May 31, 2026

🏆 Final Venue — M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

📊 Total Matches — 84 (most in IPL history)

👥 Total Teams — 10

💛 Title Sponsor — TATA Group

🥇 Defending Champions — Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

📺 Live TV — Star Sports Network

📱 Live Streaming — JioHotstar

When Does IPL 2026 Start?

IPL 2026 starts on March 28, 2026. The opening match will be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, home of defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The start date was originally set for March 26 — a date communicated to franchises the day before the December 2025 auction. It was later pushed to March 28 to allow a comfortable gap after the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 final on March 8.

RCB, as defending champions, will host the opening match as per IPL tradition.

Why Has the IPL 2026 Schedule Been Delayed?

The full IPL 2026 schedule is being released in two phases due to upcoming state assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu.

Three franchises — KKR (West Bengal), CSK (Tamil Nadu) and RR (Guwahati, Assam) — are based in election states. During elections, state police are redirected to election security, making it impossible to guarantee the stadium security that IPL matches require.

Phase 1, covering the first 13 to 14 days of the tournament, was expected to be announced by March 6 or 7.
Phase 2 will follow once the Election Commission officially announces polling dates.

📌 This page will be updated the moment BCCI officially releases each phase of the schedule.

IPL 2026 Full Match Schedule

⚠️ Last updated: March 5, 2026. BCCI is expected to release Phase 1 fixtures on March 6 or 7. The full fixture list will be added here immediately after the official announcement.

Opening Match

📅 Date — March 28, 2026

🏟 Venue — M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

🏠 Home Team — Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

✈️ Away Team — To be confirmed

🕖 Time — 7:30 PM IST

League Stage Format

All 10 teams play each other in a round-robin format. Each team plays 14 matches — 7 at home and 7 away. The top 4 teams at the end of the league stage qualify for the playoffs.

Full match-by-match fixtures will be updated here once officially released by BCCI.

Playoffs Format

🟢 Qualifier 1 — 1st vs 2nd — winner goes directly to the Final

🔴 Eliminator — 3rd vs 4th — loser is eliminated

🟡 Qualifier 2 — Loser of Q1 vs Winner of Eliminator — winner goes to Final

🏆 Final — Winner of Q1 vs Winner of Q2 — May 31, 2026, Bengaluru

IPL 2026 Final Date and Venue

The IPL 2026 Final is confirmed for May 31, 2026 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary Santosh Menon confirmed that Chinnaswamy Stadium will host the final as well as one playoff fixture. This makes Bengaluru the centrepiece of the business end of the tournament — fitting, given that RCB are the defending champions.

IPL 2026 Teams and Home Grounds

All 10 franchises from IPL 2025 return for IPL 2026.

🔵 Mumbai Indians (MI) — Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
🟡 Chennai Super Kings (CSK) — MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
🔴 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) — M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
🟣 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) — Eden Gardens, Kolkata
🔵 Delhi Capitals (DC) — Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
🔴 Punjab Kings (PBKS) — Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium, Mullanpur
🩷 Rajasthan Royals (RR) — Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
🟠 Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) — Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

🔵 Gujarat Titans (GT) — Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
🩵 Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) — BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

Note: RCB will play 5 home matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium and 2 at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur.

IPL 2026 — What Is New This Season?

84 Matches for the First Time

IPL 2026 is the first edition to feature 84 matches, up from 74 in IPL 2025. The IPL Governing Council approved this expansion, with further growth expected from 2028 when the tournament expands to 94 matches.

IPL 2026 Auction Highlights

The IPL 2026 player auction was held on December 16, 2025 in Abu Dhabi. Each franchise received a purse of ₹125 crore. The biggest signings were:

🏏 Cameron Green (KKR) — ₹25.20 crore — most expensive overseas player in IPL history

🏏 Prashant Veer (CSK) — ₹14.20 crore — joint most expensive uncapped Indian player ever

🏏 Kartik Sharma (CSK) — ₹14.20 crore — joint most expensive uncapped Indian player ever

Notable players who went unsold at auction: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Jonny Bairstow, Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway.

RCB Home Venue Situation

Following the tragic stampede at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in June 2025 during RCB's IPL 2025 title celebrations — which resulted in 11 fatalities — there was uncertainty around Bengaluru hosting IPL 2026 matches. The Karnataka government subsequently cleared the stadium for both IPL and international fixtures. RCB will play 5 home games at Chinnaswamy and 2 in Raipur.

How to Watch IPL 2026 Live

On TV in India

📺 Star Sports 1 — English commentary

📺 Star Sports 1 Hindi — Hindi commentary

📺 Star Sports 1 Tamil — Tamil commentary

📺 Star Sports 1 Telugu — Telugu commentary

📺 Star Sports 1 Kannada — Kannada commentary

Live Streaming in India

Stream every match live on JioHotstar — available on Android, iOS, web browser and Smart TV. JioHotstar holds the official digital broadcast rights for IPL 2026. A free tier with ads is available.

Match Timings (IST)

🕞 Afternoon matches — 3:30 PM IST 🕖 Evening matches — 7:30 PM IST

Double-header days will have one afternoon and one evening match.

IPL 2026 Schedule — Frequently Asked Questions

When does IPL 2026 start?

IPL 2026 starts on March 28, 2026. The opening match is at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, with defending champions RCB as the home side.

When is the IPL 2026 Final?

The IPL 2026 Final is on May 31, 2026 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

How many matches are in IPL 2026?

IPL 2026 has 84 matches in total — the most in IPL history.

Why is the IPL 2026 schedule delayed?

The schedule is being released in two phases because assembly election dates in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam have not been announced yet. IPL venues in election states cannot be confirmed until the election calendar is fixed.

Who are the defending IPL champions?

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are the defending IPL champions. They won their maiden IPL title in 2025, defeating Punjab Kings in the final.

Where can I watch IPL 2026 for free?

JioHotstar offers a free tier with ads for IPL 2026 live streaming in India. Star Sports is available on standard cable and DTH packages.

How many teams are in IPL 2026?

10 teams compete in IPL 2026: MI, CSK, RCB, KKR, DC, PBKS, RR, SRH, GT, and LSG.

Bookmark this page — we update the IPL 2026 schedule after every official BCCI announcement. Full match fixtures, venues, and timings will be added here as soon as they are released.