IPL 2026 Schedule highlights: Defending champions RCB to take on SRH on opening day
IPL 2026 Schedule Announcement: Check full fixtures, start date, opening match, teams, final date and MI, CSK, RCB, KKR, LSG, RR, SRH, DC, GT team match schedule latest news and updates here.
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: The schedule for the Indian Premier League's 19th season is expected soon.
IPL 2026 Schedule: In just a few minutes, the schedule for the first 20 days of the Indian Premier League season 19 will be revealed before the IPL 2026 season starts in earnest in just over two weeks’ time. But The Indian Express can reveal that the IPL 2026 season will start with a clash between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad at Bengaluru
(Scroll down for the first phase schedule of IPL 2026 and team-wise schedule breakdown)
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The official broadcasters have announced that all IPL 2026 games in Bengaluru are subject to clearance by an expert committee on March 13. A statement from IPL noted: The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka. The committee will conduct a meeting and inspection of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13, 2026, during which a full-scale mock demonstration of match-day arrangements will be carried out to assess the stadium’s preparedness for hosting IPL matches.
All 10 teams are already in preparation mode, with players assembling across the country for camps, many of them having played for their national teams recently at the T20 World Cup. With elections in multiple states like Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala making the IPL schedule tricky, it’s expected that the schedule will only be announced for the first 20 days of the season.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru come into IPL 19 as the defending champions while Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings will be the most successful (each having won five titles). RCB are expected to play only a portion of their matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru with Raipur slotted to host their home games as well.
There has been plenty of churn in all the 10 teams’ squads since the last season.
Scroll down for updates about the IPL 2026 schedule and news about what the 10 teams are up to
Live Updates
Mar 11, 2026 09:13 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: Full schedule
March 28: RCB vs SRH (this is the seventh time that they play opening game of IPL. They have had 4 losses and 2 wins in the past six games.)
March 29: MI vs KKR in Mumbai
March 30: RR vs CSK in Guwahati
March 31: PBKS vs GT in Mullanpur
April 1: LSG vs DC in Lucknow
April 2: KKR vs SRH in Kolkata
April 3: CSK vs PBKS in Chennai
April 4: DC vs MI in Delhi
April 4: GT vs RR in Ahmedabad
April 5: SRH vs LSG in Ahmedabad
April 5: RCB vs CSK in Bengaluru
April 6: KKR vs PBKS in Kolkata
April 7: RR vs MI in Guwahati
April 8: DC vs GT in Delhi
April 9: KKR vs LSG in Kolkata
April 10: RR vs RCB in Guwahati
April 11: PBKS vs SRH in Mullanpur
April 11: CSK vs DC in Chennai
April 12: LSG vs GT in Lucknow
April 12: MI vs RCB in Mumbai
Mar 11, 2026 08:12 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: PBKS squad
Shreyas Iyer(C), Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod, Harnoor Pannu, Pyla Avinash, Prabhsimran Singh, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Priyansh Arya, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Mitch Owen, Cooper Cannolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Pravin Dubey, Vishal Nishad, Lockie Ferguson.
Mar 11, 2026 07:38 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: RCB squad
Rajat Patidar(C), Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Swapnil Singh, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer, Satvik Deswal, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Jordan Cox, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Tushara, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Yash Dayal.
Mar 11, 2026 07:28 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: GT squad
Shubman Gill(C), Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Anuj Rawat, Tom Banton, Glenn Phillips, Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Mohd. Arshad Khan, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Jason Holder, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Luke Wood, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan.
Mar 11, 2026 07:18 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: Points from press release
- As three states are scheduled to undergo State Assembly elections during this period, the full schedule of the tournament will be announced once the poll dates are announced.
- 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.
- The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka. The committee will conduct a meeting and inspection of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13, 2026, during which a full-scale mock demonstration of match-day arrangements will be carried out to assess the stadium’s preparedness for hosting IPL matches.
Mar 11, 2026 07:18 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: Rest of the schedule to come after election dates are out
As three states are scheduled to undergo State Assembly elections during this period, the full schedule of the tournament will be announced once the poll dates are announced, the IPL stated in a release
Mar 11, 2026 07:05 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: Firts phase of schedule of IPL 2026
As revealed by The Indian Express earlier today, here is the first phase of the IPL 2026 schedule
March 28: RCB vs SRH (this is the seventh time that they play opening game of IPL. They have had 4 losses and 2 wins in the past six games.)
March 29: MI vs KKR in Mumbai
March 30: RR vs CSK in Guwahati
March 31: PBKS vs GT in Mullanpur
April 1: LSG vs DC in Lucknow
April 2: KKR vs SRH in Kolkata
April 3: CSK vs PBKS in Chennai
April 4: DC vs MI in Delhi
April 4: GT vs RR in Ahmedabad
April 5: SRH vs LSG in Ahmedabad
April 5: RCB vs CSK in Bengaluru
April 6: KKR vs PBKS in Kolkata
April 7: RR vs MI inGuwahati
April 8: DC vs GT in Delhi
April 9: KKR vs LSG in Kolkata
April 10: RR vs RCB in Guwahati
April 11: PBKS vs SRH in Mullanpur
April 11: CSK vs DC in Chennai
April 12: LSG vs GT in Lucknow
April 12: MI vs RCB in Mumbai
Mar 11, 2026 06:55 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: LSG schedule
APRIL 1: Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals in Lucknow
APRIL 5: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Lucknow Super Giants in Hyderabad
April 10: Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Guwahati
April 12: Mumbai Indiansvs Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Mumbai
Mar 11, 2026 05:08 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: Mumbai's schedule
A quick look at Mumbai Indians' schedule for the first phase of IPL 2026:
Wankhede Stadium to host games on
March 29 (Mumbai vs Kolkata Knight Riders)
April 12 (Mumbai vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru)
Mumbai Indians' away games:
April 4 vs Delhi Capitals in Delhi
April 7 vs Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati
Mar 11, 2026 05:05 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: Schedule for the first phase of IPL 2026
Here we go! The schedule for the first 20 days of the IPL is here! There are four double header days so far!
Mar 11, 2026 04:45 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: IPL 2026 to start with clash between RCB and SRH
A clash between defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad will kickstart the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League, The Indian Express can now reveal.
The schedule for the first 20 days is coming up shortly.
Mar 11, 2026 04:38 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: Confirmed. IPL schedule at 7 pm
So we can now be certain that the schedule for the first 20 days of IPL will come out today at 7 pm with JioHotstar and Star Sports broadcasting it live
Mar 11, 2026 04:28 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: IPL schedule today?
The schedule for IPL 2026 is likely to be announced today, according to reports. Important to note that only the games for the first 20 days of IPL will be revealed since there are multiple states heading to elections, making the schedule tricky.
Mar 11, 2026 03:32 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: What BCCI Secretary said about IPL schedule
On Tuesday, while speaking to news agency ANI, Devajit Saikia, the secretary for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), had provided an update on the schedule for the IPL 2026 season.
“We will announce the first 20-day schedule of IPL in 2 or 3 days after considering the election dates in a few states and will announce the rest of the tournament schedule later,” Saikia said to ANI.
Mar 11, 2026 01:43 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: RCB's Jadeja video
The IPL 2026 season will see Rajasthan Royals welcome Ravindra Jadeja back home to the franchise where he started his IPL career under Shane Warne's captaincy. Rajasthan Royals have posted a video for the man Warne nicknamed a "rockstar".
Virat Kohli has posted a video of him training for the upcoming season of the IPL. RCB are the defending champions this season with Kohli being the talisman for the team.
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: What BCCI Secretary said about IPL schedule
Yesterday, while speaking to news agency ANI, Devajit Saikia, the secretary for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), had provided an update on the schedule for the IPL 2026 season.
“We will announce the first 20-day schedule of IPL in 2 or 3 days after considering the election dates in a few states and will announce the rest of the tournament schedule later,” Saikia said to ANI.
Mar 11, 2026 12:34 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: RCB confirm bringing the games back to home ground
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches at Chinnaswamy this season. This comes after 11 RCB fans died and many were injured in a stampede celebrating the team's title.
RCB’s remaining two home matches of their IPL 2026 campaign will be held at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
"This significant development comes after months of hard work and close coordination across all concerned authorities with a common goal of bringing the games back to home ground for the fans," RCB said in a statement to the media.
"RCB extends its sincere gratitude to the Government of Karnataka, the Karnataka State Cricket Association and the Karnataka Police for their unwavering guidance, cooperation and support in facilitating the hosting of matches in Bengaluru. The collective efforts to ramp up infrastructure and safety measures in time for the IPL season have ensured that the defending champions will play the majority of their home games in their home ground," the franchise said in a statement.
Rajesh Menon, CEO, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, said, “The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is more than just our home ground it is where our identity as a team truly comes alive. The energy our fans bring to Bengaluru has always been a driving force for our players, inspiring them through every phase of the game. Our fans have stood by us unconditionally, and they deserve the opportunity to watch their team compete at home.”
“After detailed discussions and completing the necessary due process around permissions, we are pleased to confirm that RCB will play five matches in Bengaluru. We sincerely thank the Government of Karnataka, the KSCA, and the Karnataka Police for their support in making this possible.”
Mar 11, 2026 12:26 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: Haydos comes in
Gujarat Titans have appointed former Australian destroyer of bowling attacks, Matthew Hayden, as their batting coach for the IPL 2026 season.
“Good batting applies pressure. Great batting owns the game. That’s the standard we want to set at Gujarat Titans,” Hayden said in a release announcing his appointment.
Hayden represented Australia in 273 international matches across formats, scoring over 15,000 international runs and playing a pivotal role in multiple ICC tournament victories. His aggressive yet technically robust approach to batting laid early foundations for the evolution of powerplay dominance in white-ball cricket. He also featured in 32 IPL matches, showcasing a style of play ideally suited to the league’s high-intensity demands.
Mar 11, 2026 12:13 PM IST
IPL 2026 Schedule LIVE: When does IPL 2026 start
The 2026 season of the IPL will start from 28th of this month. This was confirmed by the Star Sports and JioHotstar during the day of the T20 World Cup final.
Mar 11, 2026 12:06 PM IST
HOLA
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the IPL 2026 schedule release. The BCCI are expected to announce the schedule for only the first 20 days of the IPL because of elections in states like Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
IPL 2026 start date announced, league set to begin on March 28
Hyderabad and Kolkata were supposed to host the play-offs as per the original dates but the IPL schedule had to be revised in the wake of the India-Pakistan military conflict that halted the event for a week. (Sportzpics)
The start date of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League was officially confirmed on Sunday by the official broadcaster as well as several franchises with the tournament set to begin on March 28 which is a Saturday. However, the schedule wasn’t announced just yet.
This is reportedly due to BCCI opting to release the fixtures in two phases as they wait for the Election commission to announce dates for elections in West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu. The first phase of the fixtures are expected tpo be announced pretty soon while the second phase will be announced after the election dates are fixed in these 3 states.
