The IPL 2026 opening clash between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad will take place in Bengaluru on March 28. The BCCI published the first phase of the tournament schedule amid worries about players’ travel plans because of the continuing crisis in West Asia.
The Karnataka government-appointed expert group, which is set to convene on March 13 to evaluate venue preparedness in the wake of the catastrophic stampede at the stadium last season, is still required to approve all scheduled games at Chinnaswamy Stadium.
On Wednesday, the BCCI released the schedule for the first 20 games. Once the dates of the elections in three states—Tamil Nadu, Assam, and West Bengal—are decided, the complete calendar will be revealed.
In addition to the state elections, BCCI officials will be focused on the growing turmoil in West Asia. International travel has been severely disrupted by the conflict, with major airports like Doha and Dubai experiencing severe restrictions.
Because of this, a week after their T20 World Cup campaign ended, some members of the West Indies and South Africa side had yet to return home. Whether those two countries’ IPL-bound players report to their teams on schedule is still up in the air.
“There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia,” PTI quoted a team official as saying.
In addition, the ongoing fighting is causing a shortage of cooking gas in hotels around India. On Tuesday, the central government used the Essential Commodities Act to guarantee a steady supply of household cooking gas.
According to CEO Kasi Viswanthan, Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, two of his players from the West Indies and South Africa, are expected to join the Chennai Super Kings well before their IPL start.
There won’t be any doubleheaders during the first weekend, with the Mumbai Indians hosting the Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium in the second game.
Ten locations—Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad—will host a total of 20 games.
“During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur,” said the BCCI in a statement.
“During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 3.30 pm and the evening matches commencing at 7.30 pm.
“Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
“The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka,” the BCCI added.
