IPL 2026 to Begin on March 28; Schedule to Be Released in Two Phases Due to Elections

New Delhi: Indian Premier League 2026 will start on March 28. But if you want the complete schedule, you will have to wait. The reason is the assembly elections to be held in many states of the country. The election dates in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have not been decided yet and BCCI is waiting for these dates. BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia on Tuesday made it clear that the schedule of the first twenty days will be released in two-three days and the schedule of the rest of the tournament will be announced later.

How many matches will there be in Chinnaswamy?

This season is emotionally very important for defending champion Royal Challengers Bangalore. Last season, 11 fans were killed and several were injured in a stampede during the title-winning celebrations. Since then questions have been raised regarding the matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Now RCB has confirmed that it will play five of its home matches this season at Chinnaswamy while the remaining two matches will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. RCB CEO Rajesh Menon said that Chinnaswamy is not just the field but the identity, and fans have the right to see their team play at home.

Are the players ready?

Everyone's preparations are in full swing. Virat Kohli posted a video of net practice and hinted that he will go out with full enthusiasm for defending champions RCB. This season will also be emotional for Ravindra Jadeja. He is associated with Rajasthan Royals, the same franchise from where he started his IPL career under the captaincy of Shane Warne. It was Warne who named him 'Rockstar'.

What big decision did Gujarat Titans take?

Gujarat Titans have appointed veteran Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden as their batting coach. Hayden scored more than 15,000 runs in 273 international matches and is recognized throughout the world for his role in laying the foundation of powerplay batting in white-ball cricket. He said that good batting creates pressure, but great batting takes over the game. This is the standard we want to set at Gujarat Titans.

Why was IPL stopped last time?

It should also be remembered that last season, due to military tension between India and Pakistan, IPL had to be stopped for a week and the schedule of the playoffs also had to be changed. Hyderabad and Kolkata were to host the playoffs but everything changed due to tension. This time BCCI has already decided to release the schedule in two phases so that there is flexibility in case of any unexpected situation. When the first match takes place on March 28, RCB will have the challenge of defending the title, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings will have the desire to win the sixth title. And the eyes of crores of fans will once again be fixed on the biggest festival of cricket.