The Indian Premier League is back with yet another exciting season in 2026, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28. The tournament will run until the end of May.
RCB enter the IPL 2026 season as defending champions after they won their maiden IPL title in 2026, beating Punjab Kings in the final.
A total of 10 teams will participate in IPL 2026. Each team plays the other nine in a round-robin home-and-away format, with the top four qualifying for the play-off. The top two teams in the league will compete in Qualifier 1, and the winner will make it to the final.
The third and fourth-placed teams will compete in an Eliminator. The winner of the eliminator will compete against the team that lost Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2. The winner of Qualifier 2 will then make it to the final.
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IPL 2026 will be played across 12 major venues in 12 Indian cities, ensuring nationwide coverage and strong local fan engagement. The confirmed venues include:
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Raipur
Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur
Most matches start at 7:30 pm IST, except for doubleheaders, which will have the first match starting at 3:30 pm IST.
BCCI have released the full schedule of IPL 2026 season.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Lucknow Super Giants
Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders