New Delhi. The Indian team created history by winning the trophy by playing brilliantly in the ICC T20 World Cup. India has become the first country to win the title at home. It has also become the first team to achieve the feat of winning it twice consecutively. After winning the final against New Zealand, the players of the Indian team will now enter the Indian Premier League. IPL 2026 will start from March 28.
The 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is going to be the biggest ever. According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the official IPL schedule will be released tomorrow in two phases due to the upcoming state assembly elections, but some important dates and venues have already been revealed from the recent Governing Council meetings.
Team India with the World Cup trophy
Main dates of IPL 2026
Event: Opening Match
Date: 28 March 2026
Venue (expected): M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Event: League Stage
Date (tentative): 28 March – 24 May 2026
Venue: Various (10 cities)
Event: Start of playoffs
Date (expected): 26 May 2026
Venue: Bengaluru and others
Event: Grand Final
Date (Expected): 31 May 2026
Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
ipl 2026 season opener
As per tradition, defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore will host the opening match.
Matchup: The first match of IPL 2026 is likely to be between Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Punjab Kings (2025 runner-up).
Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has got the green signal to host the opening match and the IPL 2026 final due to security upgrades after last year’s celebrations. A total of 84 matches will be played in the 2026 tournament. Till last season there were 74 matches.
Teams: 10 franchises will compete in double round-robin and playoff format.
Schedule in two phases: Due to elections in West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu, BCCI will release the schedule for the first 15 days, the rest of the schedule will be released after the voting dates are decided.
Playoff and final venues
While the schedule of all the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 playoff matches is yet to be decided, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has confirmed that Bengaluru will host Qualifier 1 and the IPL 2026 Final. Other playoff matches (Eliminator and Qualifier 2) can be given to venues like Ahmedabad or Raipur.