The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia set the record straight, finally revealing the exact reasons behind the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final being moved from the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Speaking to news agency ANI, the top BCCI official confirmed that the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) allegedly sought complimentary tickets way beyond the permissible quota. Hence, there was no option left but to move the IPL final.
The summit clash of the 19th edition of the T20 tournament will be played on May 31 in Ahmedabad. Qualifier 1 will be held at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, while the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 will be played in Mullanpur.
The venues for the IPL 2026 playoffs were unveiled on Wednesday, May 6, and fans were shocked when Bengaluru was denied hosting rights despite winning the previous edition of the tournament.
“As per IPL protocol, we are required to provide only 15 per cent of the total seating capacity as complimentary tickets to the host association. This constitutes the standard protocol; all host state associations receive a 15 per cent allocation of their total capacity in the form of complimentary tickets,” Saikia told news agency ANI.
“However, we received information from various sources indicating that during the hosting of IPL league matches, the Karnataka State Association was claiming a significantly higher number of complimentary tickets, far exceeding the stipulated 15 per cent,” he added.
‘Shocked’
Saikia also said that the BCCI was left shocked when the KSCA informed the body about the complimentary ticket quota they would require for the summit clash. It is worth noting that the KSCA has already expressed disappointment at losing out on hosting the IPL 2026 final.
“Consequently, we sent them an email requesting precise details regarding this matter. We were shocked when we received a response via email from the Karnataka State Cricket Association on May 2nd; in that email, they stated that, over and above the 15 per cent complimentary ticket quota, they would require an additional, substantial allocation of tickets for their members, affiliated clubs, and various others,” said Saikia.
“Most surprisingly, they also requested tickets for their local Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and Members of the Legislative Council. And also to the government of Karnataka, 700 complimentary tickets. Thus, over and above the 15 per cent allocation, they were demanding approximately 10,000 additional tickets,” he added.
Qualifier 1 will be played on May 26 while the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 will go ahead on May 27 and May 29, respectively.
