New Delhi: The IPL Governing Council (GC) has cleared the first half of the schedule for the 19th edition of the tournament. According to a Cricbuzz report, the GC held an online meeting on Monday and decided to release the IPL 2026 fixtures in two phases, with the first part likely to be released on March 6 or 7.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have already confirmed on March 3 that the franchise is set to play their five matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Traditionally, the defending champions host the opening game of the new IPL season, and that trend will be continued this year as well.
The KSCA secretary Santosh Menon also informed later on March 3, that the venue will also host a playoff match as well as the IPL 2026 final on May 31. According to media reports, the start of the IPL 2026 has been pushed back by a few days and is likely to begin on March 28 or 29, while the final will be played on May 31.
According to a Cricbuzz report, the BCCI acting CEO and IPL COO Hemang Amin conveyed to the franchises that the practice session rules would be shared by next week. He also told them in a recent communication that the No Objection Certificates for overseas players [NOC] would be shared in one go in the upcoming days.
Election schedule delay forces IPL 2026 fixture hold-up
All 10 teams were also informed that the IPL 2026 fixtures were being held back due to the delay in announcement of the poll dates for West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu by the Election Commission. It was also indicated that the details for the pre-tournament skippers’ meeting would be communicated by next week.
There is still no clarity on when the State Assembly election schedule will be announced, and given the limited time before the likely start of the IPL 2026 season, the board has decided to release the fixtures in two phases. The initial phase of IPL 2026 is expected to cover the first 13-14 days of the tournament.