The dates for the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have been confirmed. IPL 2026 will be played from Thursday, March 26, to Sunday, May 31 next year. This was the main outcome of a meeting between the 10 IPL franchises and league officials.
The meeting took place in Abu Dhabi on Monday, December 15. It was held at the W Hotel in the evening, just a day before the IPL mini-auction. Hemang Amin, the IPL CEO, announced the dates during a briefing ahead of the auction. The mini-auction will be held on Tuesday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. However, there is still no final decision on the opening match venue.
It is not clear if the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will host the first game. The stadium is the home ground of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). RCB are the IPL 2025 champions.
Chinnaswamy Stadium faces safety concerns
The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has received conditional approval. The state government has allowed IPL matches only if safety rules are followed. KSCA must meet all security requirements before matches can be hosted. Traditionally, the opening match is held at the home ground of the defending champions.
When asked about Chinnaswamy, a senior BCCI official said, “We hope so.” He added, “The State’s Deputy Chief Minister (DK Shivakumar) himself has said so.” DK Shivakumar recently spoke about the issue.
He said, “We have decided about the IPL matches. We are positive. We have asked our Home Minister G Parameshwara to have a meeting with them (KSCA authorities). Parameshwara will discuss with the Cricket Association. The Home Minister will deal with it.”
Concerns remain due to a tragic stampede on June 4. At least 11 fans died during RCB’s IPL trophy celebrations at the stadium. Since then, the state government has rejected requests to host matches there.
Some Women’s World Cup games were also shifted to other venues. Meanwhile, Cricbuzz confirmed Abhimanyu Easwaran’s inclusion in the IPL 2026 mini-auction list. The Bengal captain appears at No. 360 in the final spreadsheet.
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