Defending Champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will open the upcoming IPL 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28 as well. The fixture for the first phase of the tournament, which is of 20 matches until April 12, was announced on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the itinerary for the rest of the season will be finalised only after election dates are announced for the poll-bound states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam as well.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders will start the opening Sunday of the season (March 29) at the Wankhede Stadium. Rajasthan Royals will then play against Chennai Super Kings in a Monday-night game in Guwahati, where both Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja take on their former franchises as well.
IPL 2026 will start on March 28
However, the next two weekends of the tournament will feature double-headers on both Saturday and Sunday, with RCB taking on CSK in Bengaluru on April 5. The next Sunday will see the Mumbai Indians play against the RCB on April 12 as well.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals will play all three of their home matches at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati before shifting their base to Jaipur for their remaining four home games. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, will play four of their home games in Mullanpur and the other three in Dharamsala.
“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,” the release stated.
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