New Delhi: The Indian Premier League Governing Council has approved the first phase of the IPL 2026 schedule, and the matches are expected to be officially announced on March 6 or 7, according to a report by Cricbuzz.Go beyond boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!The decision was made during an online GC meeting on Monday, where it was decided to release the Season 19 schedule in two phases. The first set of installations, roughly covering the 13-14 day opening period, are likely to be unveiled later this week.
Indian fans have been waiting more than four hours to see their heroes outside Wankhede
According to the same report, the opening match of the tournament is scheduled to be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Tuesday confirmed that they will play five home matches at the stadium.
Per tradition, the defending champions host the opener, and it looks like that conference will continue. Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary Santosh Menon also confirmed that the Chinnaswamy Stadium will host a playoff match in addition to the final.While RCB’s opening opponents have yet to be finalized, a previous Cricbuzz report suggested that the start of the season could be pushed back slightly, with March 28 or 29 emerging as possible dates.
The final, as previously announced, is scheduled to take place on May 31.In a recent communication with franchisees, Hemang Amin, Acting CEO of BCCI and Chief Operating Officer of IPL, informed that guidelines for the training session will be shared next week. Franchisees have also been informed that No Objection Certificates (NOCs) will be issued to foreign players en masse in the coming days.The delay in releasing the complete schedule is related to the pending announcement of assembly election dates in West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu. With time limited before the start of the season, the BCCI opted for a staggered release – a strategy previously adopted during election years.