The schedule for the first phase of IPL 2026 has been released. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the schedule for the opening matches of the 19th season on Wednesday. This season of the world’s most popular T20 franchise league will begin on March 28th, with the first phase of matches scheduled until April 12th.
Opening Match To Be Held In Bengaluru
The first match of the tournament will be played on March 28th at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). RCB will be defending their title this time. RCB won the IPL title for the first time in 2025 by defeating Punjab Kings. The day after the opening match, on Sunday, the match between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
20 Matches In The First Phase, Matches In 10 Cities
A total of 20 matches will be played in the first phase. These matches will be held in 10 different cities: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad. There will also be four double-headers during this period. During a double-header, two matches will be played on the same day. The afternoon match will start at 3:30 PM IST, and the evening match will start at 7:30 PM IST. Royal Challengers Bangalore will play five of their home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamsala. Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur.
Why The Delay In Announcing The Schedule?
The full IPL schedule has not been announced yet. Assembly elections are upcoming in some states, due to which the BCCI has only released the schedule for the first phase. The states where elections are scheduled include Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu. Kolkata (West Bengal) and Chennai (Tamil Nadu) are the home grounds of the Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, respectively, while Guwahati is the second home venue for the Rajasthan Royals. The full schedule for the remaining IPL matches will be released after the election dates in these states are announced.
RCB To Defend The Title
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won the IPL title for the first time in 2025 by defeating the Punjab Kings. RCB will defend the title this time.
Final Decision On Bengaluru Matches Pending
The matches in Bengaluru will currently depend on the approval of the state government’s expert committee. The expert committee formed by the Karnataka government will inspect the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13, 2026. During this, a full mock demo of match-day preparations will be conducted, after which it will be determined whether the stadium is fully ready to host IPL matches.
