The IPL 2026 marks the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League, a premier Twenty20 franchise tournament organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Scheduled from March 28 to May 31, 2026, the season will feature 10 teams competing across multiple venues in India. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru enter this season as the defending champions, while Sunrisers Hyderabad finished as the runners-up in the previous edition.
IPL 2026 Season 19 Winning Cup (www.newdelhiwants.com)
Ten Teams and their Captains
Ten captains of IPL 2026 (iplschedule.net)
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) – Rajat Patidar
- Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – Ruturaj Gaikwad
- Gujarat Titans (GT) – Shubman Gill
- Delhi Capitals (DC) – Axar Patel
- Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) – Rishabh Pant
- Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) – Ishan Kishan (Interim): Replacing injured Pat Cummins
- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – Ajinkya Rahane
- Punjab Kings (PBKS) – Shreyas Iyer
- Rajasthan Royals (RR) – Riyan Parag
- Mumbai Indians (MI) – Hardik Pandya
IPL 19 Format
The IPL 2026 will feature an expanded schedule of 84 matches, including 80 round-robin games and 4 playoff matches. Each of the 10 teams will play 16 matches in the round-robin stage, up from 14 games per team in the previous season.
The playoff stage will cover four matches, played in a set sequence to determine the finalists and, ultimately, the champion.
Playoff matches
IPL 26′ Playoffs – Road to Finale (Superprof)
- Qualifier 1: This match is contested between the top two teams in the IPL standings after the round-robin stage. The winner secures a direct spot in the final, while the losing side gets another opportunity through the second qualifier.
- Eliminator: Played between the teams finishing third and fourth in the table, this is a knockout game where the winner moves ahead to the second qualifier, and the losing team exits the tournament.
- Qualifier 2: This match features the loser of Qualifier 1 and the winner of the Eliminator. The team that wins this clash earns the remaining place in the final.
- Final: The championship match is played between the winners of Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2, where the victorious team is crowned the IPL champion.
Home stadiums
- CSK: M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
- Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
- RR: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, and Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
- DC: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
- LSG: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow GT:
- KKR: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
- SRH: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad
- PBKS: Punjab Cricket Association New Stadium, New Chandigarh, and Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala
- MI: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
- RCB: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, and Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur
| Match No | Dates | Timings | Matches | Venues |
| 1 | March 28 | 7:30 pm | RCB vs. SRH | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
| 2 | March 29 | 7:30 pm | MI vs. KKR | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
| 3 | March 30 | 7:30 pm | RR vs. CSK | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati |
| 4 | March 31 | 7:30 pm | PBKS vs. GT | Punjab Cricket Association New Stadium, New Chandigarh |
| 5 | April 1 | 7:30 pm | LSG vs. DC | Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow |
| 6 | April 2 | 7:30 pm | KKR vs. SRH | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| 7 | April 3 | 7:30 pm | CSK vs. PBKS | M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
| 8 | April 4 | 3:30 pm | DC vs. MI | Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi |
| 9 | April 4 | 7:30 pm | GT vs. RR | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad |
| 10 | April 5 | 3:30 pm | SRH vs. LSG | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad |
| 11 | April 5 | 7:30 pm | RCB vs. CSK | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
| 12 | April 6 | 7:30 pm | KKR vs. PBKS | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| 13 | April 7 | 7:30 pm | RR vs. MI | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati |
| 14 | April 8 | 7:30 pm | DC vs. GT | Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi |
| 15 | April 9 | 7:30 pm | KKR vs. LSG | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| 16 | April 10 | 7:30 pm | RR vs. RCB | Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati |
| 17 | April 11 | 3:30 pm | PBKS vs. SRH | Punjab Cricket Association New Stadium, New Chandigarh |
| 18 | April 11 | 7:30 pm | CSK vs. DC | M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
| 19 | April 12 | 3:30 pm | LSG vs. GT | Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow |
| 20 | April 12 | 7:30 pm | MI vs. RCB | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
Venues
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has revealed a partial list of venues for the opening phase of the IPL 2026, assigning home stadiums to all 10 franchises. A few teams will split their home games across multiple venues.
For instance, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru will host matches in Bengaluru and Raipur, while the Punjab Kings will play in New Chandigarh and Dharamshala. Similarly, the Rajasthan Royals will have their home games in Jaipur and Guwahati.
Conclusion
As the excitement builds, IPL 2026 promises a season packed with high-intensity clashes, passionate fan moments, and a fitting stage for the next champion to rise. With every match, the race for the title is set to get sharper, keeping fans hooked till the very end. Catch all the action of the 19th season of IPL 2026 live on Star Sports and stream it online on JioHotstar.
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