IPL 2026 will kick off on March 31, with defending champions Gujarat Titans taking on Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad, as the league returns to its traditional home-and-away format in India for the first time since 2019. The final will also take place. in Ahmedabad on May 28.
The IPL is scheduled to kick off five days after the inaugural Women’s Premier League final on March 26, and the opening weekend will see all ten teams in action: after the Titans take on CSK on Friday, the Punjab Kings take on Kolkata Knight Riders in Mohali and Lucknow Super Giants take on Delhi Capitals in Lucknow on Saturday (April 1); and Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Mumbai Indians in Bengaluru on Sunday, April 2.
The schedule for the four playoff games has yet to be announced, apart from Ahmedabad being identified as the venue for the title clash.
The teams have been divided into two groups like last season. Pool A includes Mumbai, Knight Riders, Royals, Capitals, and Super Giants, while Pool B includes Super Kings, Royal Challengers, Titans, Kings, and Sunrisers. But unlike last season, each team will play the five teams from the other group twice and once against the other four from their own group, making 14 league games per team.
The league phase comprises 70 matches over 52 days from March 31 to May 21, spanning 12 cities, and will feature 18 doubleheaders. In addition to the usual ten venues (Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Mohali), some matches will be played in Guwahati (the Royals’ second home) and Dharamsala (the Royals’ second home). kings).
The Royals will play their first two home games in Guwahati and the other five in Jaipur. Meanwhile, the Kings will play their first five home games in Mohali and their last two home games in Dharamsala.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings in 1000th IPL game
There will be a total of 18 double matches during the league phase, every Saturday and Sunday. The two most successful teams in IPL history, Mumbai and Super Kings, will meet twice, on April 8 and May 6, with the second of those matches being the 1,000th match of the IPL since its inception in 2008. Meanwhile, Super Kings would return to their original home at MA Chidambaram Stadium, or Chepauk, in Chennai.
IPL 2019 was the last time the league was played in all traditional venues in India. In 2020, the tournament had to be postponed from the March-May window to September-November and was moved to the United Arab Emirates due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
in September. In 2022, the tournament was held in the March-May window in India, but the entire league phase was held at the Mumbai and Pune venues, along with the playoffs and final in Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
| 2026 SEASON SCHEDULE IPLTICKET.CO.IN |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| DATE | KICK-OFF | HOME | AWAY | STADIUM |
| 28-03-2026 | Sat 7:30 PM | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Bengaluru |
| 29-03-2026 | Sun 7:30 PM | Mumbai Indians | Kolkata Knight Riders | Mumbai |
| 30-03-2026 | Mon 7:30 PM | Rajasthan Royals | Chennai Super Kings | Guwahati |
| 31-03-2026 | Tue 7:30 PM | Punjab Kings | Gujarat ?itans | New Chandigarh |
| 01-04-2026 | Wed 7:30 PM | Lucknow Super Giants | Delhi Capitals | Lucknow |
| 02-04-2026 | Thu 7:30 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Kolkata |
| 03-04-2026 | Fri 7:30 PM | Chennai Super Kings | Punjab Kings | Chennai |
| 04-04-2026 | Sat 3:30 PM | Delhi Capitals | Mumbai Indians | Delhi |
| 04-04-2026 | Sat 7:30 PM | Gujarat ?itans | Rajasthan Royals | Ahmedabad |
| 05-04-2026 | Sun 3:30 PM | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Lucknow Super Giants | Hyderabad |
| 05-04-2026 | Sun 7:30 PM | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Chennai Super Kings | Bengaluru |
| 06-04-2026 | Mon 7:30 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders | Punjab Kings | Kolkata |
| 07-04-2026 | Tue 7:30 PM | Rajasthan Royals | Mumbai Indians | Guwahati |
| 08-04-2026 | Wed 7:30 PM | Delhi Capitals | Gujarat ?itans | Delhi |
| 09-04-2026 | Thu 7:30 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders | Lucknow Super Giants | Kolkata |
| 10-04-2026 | Fri 7:30 PM | Rajasthan Royals | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Guwahati |
| 11-04-2026 | Sat 3:30 PM | Punjab Kings | Sunrisers Hyderabad | New Chandigarh |
| 11-04-2026 | Sat 7:30 PM | Chennai Super Kings | Delhi Capitals | Chennai |
| 12-04-2026 | Sun 3:30 PM | Lucknow Super Giants | Gujarat ?itans | Lucknow |
| 12-04-2026 | Sun 7:30 PM | Mumbai Indians | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Mumbai |