The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the schedule for the first 16 days of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The tournament opener will be between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28. The upcoming tournament will mark the return of both Virat Kohli and Pat Cummins to competitive cricket. Kohli last featured in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, while Cummins played the Adelaide Ashes Test against England in December 2025.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the five-time champions, will open their campaign on March 30 against the Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. For the first time in years, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja won’t be a part of the same team after the all-rounder was traded to the Rajasthan Royals last year. Sanju Samson will also be seen in the yellow jersey for the first time.
The heavyweight clash between the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders will take place at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, March 29. No double-headers will be played in the first two days of the tournament, with only four double-header days scheduled in the first half.
Last year’s finalists, Punjab Kings, will square off against 2022 champions Gujarat Titans on March 31, while Lucknow Super Giants will play Delhi Capitals in their tournament opener the next day, on April 1. The marquee clashes – RCB vs CSK and MI vs RCB – will take place on April 5 and April 12 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and the Wankhede Stadium, respectively.
The tournament schedule announcement had earlier been delayed due to the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Assam. The IPL Governing Council is expected to confirm the schedule for the second half once the Election Commission announces the poll dates.
There had also been uncertainty over whether RCB would play their home matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium following last year’s stampede during the team’s victory celebrations that claimed 11 lives. However, after receiving clearance from the Karnataka government, RCB confirmed they will play five home matches in Bengaluru, with the remaining two scheduled in Raipur.
Here’s the first-half schedule for IPL 2026:
March 28: RCB vs SRH (Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru ) – 3:30 PM
March 29: MI vs KKR (Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai ) – 7:30 PM
March 30: Rajasthan Royals vs CSK (Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati) – 7:30 PM
March 31: Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans (Mullanpur) – 7:30 PM
April 1 Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals (Ekana, Lucknow) – 7:30 PM
April 2: KKR vs SRH (Eden Gardens, Kolkata) – 7:30 PM
April 3: CSK vs Punjab Kings (MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai) – 7:30 PM
April 4: Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians (Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi) – 3:30 PM
April 4: Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals (Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad) – 7:30 PM
April 5: SRH vs LSG (Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad) – 3:30 PM
April 5: RCB vs CSK (Bengaluru) – 7:30 PM
April 6: KKR vs Punjab Kings (Kolkata) – 7:30 PM
April 7: Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians (Guwahati) – 7:30 PM
April 8: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Titans (Delhi) – 7:30 PM
April 9: KKR vs LSG (Kolkata) – 7:30 PM
April 10: Rajasthan Royals vs RCB (Guwahati) – 7:30 PM IST
April 11: Punjab Kings vs SRH (Mullanpur) – 3:30 PM IST
April 11: CSK vs Delhi Capitals (Chennai) -7:30 PM IST
April 12: LSG vs Gujarat Titans (Lucknow) – 3:30 PM
April 12: Mumbai Indians vs RCB (Mumbai) -7:30 PM
Note: 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.
