As the fans are excited for the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup 2026, they are also eagerly waiting for the IPL 2026 Schedule to be out. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which manages the Indian Premier League, is waiting for the Election Commission of India to announce the poll dates regarding the dates of the election in some states before they finalise the dates of the Indian Premier League 2026 edition.
Basically, the Indian Premier League 2026 is most likely to commence from the 26th of March and end on the 31st of May. These are not just tentative dates, but not the confirmed dates. In a meeting held by the governing body of the Indian Premier League, they decided to first wait for the election dates and later put out the final schedule of the Indian Premier League 2026.
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IPL 2026 Schedule: Announcement Delayed as BCCI waits for the poll dates
There are assembly elections which are going to be held during the month of April-May in states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Kerala, as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry. As per reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has a total of 18 venues that will host the matches of the Indian Premier League 2026, which include venues in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Assam.
However, the final dates would be better to release later to avoid any kind of chaos and ensure the smooth functioning of the competition. When we talk about the 18 cities that are proposed to host the matches of the Indian Premier League 2026, they are Hyderabad, Guwahati, Chennai, Jaipur, Navi Mumbai, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, New Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Raipur, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Delhi, and Lucknow.
There are also two teams that need to confirm their venues by 27th January, which the governing body of the Indian Premier League has stated. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are those two teams. As per rumours, there are chances that RCB, who are the winners of the IPL 2025, could play the matches in Navi Mumbai or Raipur. After the stampede that happened during the RCB trophy celebration last year, which took away some lives, it has not hosted any match since then.