IPL 2026 Full Schedule, Dates, Venues, Timings and Where to Watch Live

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally unveiled the first-phase schedule of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, confirming that defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the season opener on March 28 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, with the final slated for May 31. However, only the first 20 matches, running from March 28 to April 12 across 10 venues, have been announced so far, with the rest of the fixtures delayed due to state elections and logistical issues.

IPL 2026: Tournament window and format

Multiple reports indicate that IPL 2026 will run from late March to May 31, 2026, maintaining a similar window to recent seasons. The official first-phase schedule notified by the BCCI covers matches from March 28 to April 12, while confirming that the full fixture list will follow once Assembly election dates in key states are finalised.tribuneindia+3

There is some discrepancy over the exact number of games this season. IPL 2026 first‑phase schedule focuses on dates, venues and the elections-driven split, without formally spelling out the final match count, so the total number of fixtures remains a point of debate until the complete schedule is issued.

Why the schedule was delayed and split in phases

The biggest single reason for the delay and “two‑phase” announcement is the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam, states that host major IPL centres at Kolkata (Eden Gardens), Chennai (M.A. Chidambaram Stadium) and Guwahati. During polling and counting, state police and central forces are heavily committed to election duty, making it difficult to guarantee the security bandobast required for high-profile IPL games on the same days.

BCCI officials have repeatedly said they will first schedule matches in non‑poll‑bound windows and then release the remainder once the Election Commission publishes final polling calendars, mirroring the split‑schedule strategy used in other election years. Reports also point to unresolved stadium and safety issues earlier in the planning cycle, particularly Rajasthan Royals’ home base at Jaipur and RCB’s return to Bengaluru, as further reasons the board held back a unified calendar.

Another complicating factor has been the calendar clash with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, hosted across India and Sri Lanka, which occupied several primary IPL venues, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai, right up to early March. Ground authorities and broadcasters needed adequate “handover” time to switch pitches, branding and logistics from an ICC event to IPL requirements, pushing back the finalisation of fixtures.

On top of that, coverage has highlighted ongoing geopolitical tensions and conflict in West Asia affecting aviation hubs like Doha and Dubai, which are key transit points for South African and West Indies cricketers returning from the T20 World Cup, adding uncertainty around player movements and match planning.

Phase 1 fixtures: key dates and double-headers

The first phase features 20 matches across 16 days, beginning March 28 and ending April 12, with at least one game every day and four double‑header days.

Key matches in Phase 1 include:

• Match 1 (March 28, Saturday): Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru (7:30 PM IST).
• Match 2 (March 29, Sunday): Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (7:30 PM IST).
• Match 3 (March 30, Monday): Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati (7:30 PM IST), marking RR’s early-season shift away from Jaipur.
• Match 4 (March 31, Tuesday): Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur/New Chandigarh (7:30 PM IST).
• Match 5 (April 1, Wednesday): Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals at Ekana Stadium, Lucknow (7:30 PM IST).

The first double‑header arrives on April 4 (Saturday), when Delhi Capitals host Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in a 3:30 PM afternoon game, followed by Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, in the 7:30 PM slot.

The second double‑header is on April 5 (Sunday): Sunrisers Hyderabad take on Lucknow Super Giants in Hyderabad in the afternoon before RCB square off against arch‑rivals Chennai Super Kings in a marquee evening clash in Bengaluru.

The remaining two double‑header days are April 11 and 12, featuring:

• April 11 afternoon: Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad at Mullanpur.
• April 11 evening: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals at Chepauk, Chennai.
• April 12 afternoon: Lucknow Super Giants vs Gujarat Titans at Lucknow.
• April 12 evening: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Wankhede, Mumbai.

Collectively, Phase 1 ensures every franchise steps onto the field at least twice, setting the tone for the season before the second-phase fixtures, likely including marquee clashes at Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur closer to the elections window are locked in.

Match	Date	Day	Home	Away	Venue	Time
1	28/03/26	Sat	Royal Challengers Bengaluru	Sunrisers Hyderabad	Bengaluru	19:30
2	29/03/26	Sun	Mumbai Indians	Kolkata Knight Riders	Mumbai	19:30
3	30/03/26	Mon	Rajasthan Royals	Chennai Super Kings	Guwahati	19:30
4	31/03/26	Tue	Punjab Kings	Gujarat Titans	Mullanpur	19:30
5	01/04/26	Wed	Lucknow Super Giants	Delhi Capitals	Lucknow	19:30
6	02/04/26	Thu	Kolkata Knight Riders	Sunrisers Hyderabad	Kolkata	19:30
7	03/04/26	Fri	Chennai Super Kings	Punjab Kings	Chennai	19:30
8	04/04/26	Sat	Delhi Capitals	Mumbai Indians	Delhi	15:30
9	04/04/26	Sat	Gujarat Titans	Rajasthan Royals	Ahmedabad	19:30
10	05/04/26	Sun	Sunrisers Hyderabad	Lucknow Super Giants	Hyderabad	15:30
11	05/04/26	Sun	Royal Challengers Bengaluru	Chennai Super Kings	Bengaluru	19:30
12	06/04/26	Mon	Kolkata Knight Riders	Punjab Kings	Kolkata	19:30
13	07/04/26	Tue	Rajasthan Royals	Mumbai Indians	Guwahati	19:30
14	08/04/26	Wed	Delhi Capitals	Gujarat Titans	Delhi	19:30
15	09/04/26	Thu	Kolkata Knight Riders	Lucknow Super Giants	Kolkata	19:30
16	10/04/26	Fri	Rajasthan Royals	Royal Challengers Bengaluru	Guwahati	19:30
17	11/04/26	Sat	Punjab Kings	Sunrisers Hyderabad	Mullanpur	15:30
18	11/04/26	Sat	Chennai Super Kings	Delhi Capitals	Chennai	19:30
19	12/04/26	Sun	Lucknow Super Giants	Gujarat Titans	Lucknow	15:30
20	12/04/26	Sun	Mumbai Indians	Royal Challengers Bengaluru	Mumbai	19:30

 

Venues and home-base arrangements

According to the BCCI release and accompanying coverage, the 20 matches in Phase 1 will be spread across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh (Mullanpur), Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. This gives the league a broad geographic footprint from the very start, even with key poll‑bound venues being managed carefully around election dates.

Punjab Kings will begin their campaign at the new Mullanpur stadium near Chandigarh, which continues as their primary early‑season home ground before their usual late‑season shift to Dharamshala. Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, start with two home fixtures in Guwahati and are expected to return to Jaipur later in the tournament after protracted disputes and safety audits at Sawai Mansingh Stadium were resolved through a compromise split of games between Jaipur and Guwahati.

For RCB, the plan is to play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur over the full season, though Bengaluru fixtures carry special conditions tied to stadium safety clearances after last year’s tragedy. Further beyond the first phase, other traditional homes like Eden Gardens (KKR), Chepauk (CSK) and Narendra Modi Stadium (GT) are expected to see fuller schedules once election and logistics windows are finalised.

Bengaluru under the scanner after stampede

While the opener is scheduled at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, all matches allotted to Bengaluru remain conditional pending the findings of an expert committee constituted by the Karnataka government. The panel is scheduled to inspect the venue and oversee a full‑scale match‑day mock drill on March 13, 2026, assessing crowd‑management protocols, evacuation routes and other safety measures before granting final approval.

This heightened scrutiny follows the tragic stampede during RCB’s 2025 title celebration parade in Bengaluru, which left 11 fans dead and several injured, prompting authorities to be far stricter about large‑scale events at the ground. In the interim, the stadium was kept off the roster for several major domestic competitions, and BCCI has made it clear that IPL matches there will proceed only if the expert committee is satisfied with the upgraded infrastructure and operational readiness.

Match timings for IPL 2026

BCCI has retained the familiar timing template from recent seasons: afternoon games start at 3:30 PM IST, while all evening matches begin at 7:30 PM IST. The four double‑header days in Phase 1 follow this pattern, with one afternoon and one evening match each.

This schedule is designed to balance stadium turnout, television ratings and player workload, giving enough turnaround time between games for broadcasters and ground staff, while also ensuring that prime-time evening matches capture peak viewership across India.

Teams and captains for IPL 2026

Ten franchises will compete in IPL 2026, each with a confirmed captain, with RCB entering as defending champions after finally lifting their first title in 2025. Various squad and preview pieces, along with team announcements, indicate the following captains for this season:wpleague+2

• Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Ruturaj Gaikwad
• Mumbai Indians (MI): Hardik Pandya
• Rajasthan Royals (RR): Riyan Parag
• Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH): Pat Cummins
• Delhi Capitals (DC): Axar Patel
• Punjab Kings (PBKS): Shreyas Iyer
• Lucknow Super Giants (LSG): Rishabh Pant
• Gujarat Titans (GT): Shubman Gill
• Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB): Rajat Patidar
• Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Ajinkya Rahane

Detailed squad lists from the mini‑auction further underline how aggressively teams have retooled around these leaders. For example, CSK continue their transition era with Gaikwad at the helm but still boasting the presence of MS Dhoni in the squad, while RCB have doubled down on Rajat Patidar after his title‑winning campaign, with Virat Kohli playing a senior batting role.

Gujarat Titans persist with Shubman Gill as captain, supported by a strong bowling core including Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada, whereas Punjab Kings have entrusted Shreyas Iyer with steering a squad stacked with all‑rounders and strike bowlers such as Yuzvendra Chahal and Marco Jansen. Riyan Parag’s appointment at Rajasthan Royals and Axar Patel’s leadership at Delhi Capitals signal a broader trend of franchises backing younger Indian captains in IPL 2026.

Live streaming and TV broadcast details

For fans in India, the IPL 2026 broadcast ecosystem remains anchored around Star Sports Network on television and JioHotstar as the official digital streaming platform. Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD will carry English coverage, while Star Sports 1 Hindi and its HD variant will serve Hindi audiences, alongside dedicated Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and other regional feeds.

On the digital side, JioHotstar formed after the merger of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar holds exclusive streaming rights for IPL 2026 in India, offering HD and 4K streams with multi‑language commentary across mobile, web and smart‑TV apps on a subscription basis. Globally, broadcasters such as Sky Sports (UK), Willow TV (USA and Canada), Fox/Kayo (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa) and others are listed as carrying live coverage, reflecting the league’s continued status as a premium global T20 property.

Several Indian outlets also reiterate that IPL 2026 matches and live updates will be available via the official tournament website, iplt20.com, consolidating fixtures, scores and video content under the BCCI umbrella.

Elections, geopolitics and World Cup

The IPL 2026 schedule has been drawn up against an unusually complex backdrop of domestic politics, global cricket and international tensions. State Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam have forced BCCI to rethink venue usage windows for Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals (in Guwahati), and to coordinate closely with law‑and‑order agencies.news.

At the same time, the overlapping T20 World Cup 2026 has meant that key grounds like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai had to transition rapidly from ICC hosting duties to IPL mode, impacting pitch preparation, branding and logistics. Reports further note that a rare overlap with the Pakistan Super League and travel constraints linked to conflict in West Asia have complicated international player availability and aviation routes into India, adding pressure on BCCI’s scheduling and contingency planning.

All of this has led the board to fall back on a two‑stage release: lock in the opening block of fixtures at relatively secure windows and non‑poll‑bound days, then finalise the remainder once the Election Commission’s calendar and logistical realities are clearer.

With Phase 1 now public, the focus will quickly shift to when BCCI publishes the second‑phase fixtures, which are expected to map out the rest of the league stage, the playoff venues and confirm whether the final will indeed stay in Bengaluru on May 31 as several reports have suggested. Fans will also watch closely for how many home matches eventually go to Jaipur, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati once election dates and security deployments are known.

For now, though, IPL 2026 has its starting point: RCB launching their title defence at a scrutinised yet iconic Chinnaswamy Stadium, four action‑packed double‑headers in the opening fortnight, and a packed broadcast and streaming plan that will beam the league to millions across India and the world.

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