BCCI announced the schedule of IPL 2026 for the second phase, know when and in how many cities the matches will be played.

IPL 2026: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released the complete schedule of the league phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 today on March 26. Earlier only the schedule of the first 20 matches was announced. After fixing the dates of assembly elections in four states, now BCCI has confirmed the venues and dates of all the remaining matches. BCCI waited for the election schedule so that there would be no problem in the remaining part of the season.

Tournament start and end

The opening match of IPL 2026 will be held on March 28 in Bengaluru. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on their home soil. The second phase of the tournament will begin on April 13, when Sunrisers Hyderabad will face Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad. The league stage will conclude on May 24 with the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals in Kolkata.

Match timings and double headers

On single match days, matches will start at 7:30 pm IST. On double header days, the afternoon match will be played at 3:30 pm IST. There will be a total of 12 days in the entire league stage when two matches each will be played. 70 league matches at 13 venues. This time 70 league matches will be held at a total of 13 different venues.

Guwahati, Raipur and Dharamshala have been included as additional venues. Rajasthan Royals will play three of their seven home matches in Guwahati. Punjab Kings will play three matches in Dharamshala and the remaining four in Mullanpur (New Chandigarh).

Special thing for RCB

Defending champion Royal Challengers Bangalore will not play all its home matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the first time. They will play two matches in Raipur, which will be against Mumbai Indians on 10th May and against Kolkata Knight Riders on 13th May.

Playoff and final date

BCCI said in a statement that the venues and dates of the playoff matches and the final will be announced later. This announcement is a big relief for cricket fans. Now they can plan the entire season in advance. The excitement of IPL 2026 will start from March 28 and the league stage will continue till May 24. This time the use of 13 venues will help in taking the matches to more parts of the country and bringing the fans closer.