Governing Council clears two-phase IPL 2026 timeline

The Governing Council (GC) of the Indian Premier League has formally cleared the first half of the schedule for IPL 2026, which is expected to be announced by March 6 or 7. The GC met online on Monday and decided to release the Season 19 fixtures in two phases, with the first set likely later this week.

With Royal Challengers Bengaluru announcing on Tuesday (March 3) that they will play five games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the season-opener is expected to be held there. Traditionally, the defending champions host the first match, and that trend is set to continue this season. Later, secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association Santosh Menon also confirmed that the Bengaluru stadium would also host a playoff game as well as the tournament final.

RCB's opponents are yet to be finalised. However, as previously reported by Cricbuzz on February 27, the start of the season could be pushed back by a few days, with March 28 or 29 emerging as possible dates. The final, as announced earlier, will be held on May 31.

In a recent communication to franchises, it was conveyed by the BCCI acting CEO and IPL COO Hemang Amin that the practice session guidelines would be shared next week. It was also stated that the No Objection Certificates for overseas players [NOC] would be shared in one go in the coming days, with Occupation Standards Classification for Australia [OSCA] to be received from CA and individual NOCs from SA, and that both documents should be forwarded together to the BCCI in a single email once received.

The franchises were further informed that the fixtures were being held back pending the Election Commission's announcement of poll dates for West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu. It was additionally indicated that details regarding the pre-tournament captains' meeting would be communicated by next week.

There is no clarity yet on when the State Assembly election schedule will be announced. Given the limited time before the likely start of the season, the BCCI has decided to release the fixtures in two phases, as it has done in previous election years. The first phase of IPL 2026 is expected to cover the initial 13-14 days.

* with additional reporting from Gokul Gopal