BCCI cancels IPL 2026 opening ceremony

IPL 2026: Opening ceremony will not be held

Desk. The 19th season of IPL is going to start from 28 March 2026. However, just two days before the start of the tournament, BCCI has decided that the opening ceremony will not be held this year. According to media reports, the reason for not organizing the opening ceremony this time is a tragic incident last year. This means that there will be no ceremony of any kind before the first match between RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Impact of last year’s event

In each IPL season, a grand opening ceremony is held before the opening match, featuring performances by prominent artists, singers and dancers. But this time BCCI has decided to cancel the opening ceremony. In 2025, RCB celebrated winning their first title after a wait of 17 years with a huge event organized at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

tragic stampede incident

During this celebration, there was a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium, in which 11 innocent people lost their lives. There was a lot of controversy over this incident. The BCCI has decided to observe silence in the memory of those 11 people and has also decided to keep 11 seats in the stadium vacant forever. According to the report of Times of India, due to this tragic incident, BCCI has decided to cancel the opening ceremony. Last year the opening ceremony was held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

first match of ipl 2026

The opening match of IPL 2026 will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. On March 28, the teams of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad will face each other on this ground. While Bengaluru will be looking to defend its title, Sunrisers Hyderabad will be looking for its second title. Last season, RCB won its first title by defeating Punjab Kings in the final.