Royal Challengers Bengaluru will start their title defence against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening match of IPL 2026.
The match will take place on March 28 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The Karnataka government recently cleared the stadium to host IPL matches. There had been doubt after a stampede during RCB’s title celebration last June. The incident led to the loss of 11 lives.
However, the matches at the venue will still need final approval. An expert committee set up by the state government will inspect the stadium.
The inspection will take place on March 13. The committee will review all match day plans. A full mock drill will also take place to test the stadium’s readiness.
The second match of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians face Kolkata Knight Riders. That match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
There will be no double header matches on the opening weekend.
The IPL will release the schedule in two phases this year. Elections are set to take place in several states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam. Teams like Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have home venues in those states.
The first phase schedule includes 20 matches. It will feature four double headers during the weekends of April 4 to 5 and April 11 to 12.
All ten teams will play four matches in this phase.
The teams are usually divided into two groups when the league has ten teams. Each team plays others in its group twice and teams from the other group once.
This will be the second time RCB and SRH meet in the first match of an IPL season. The last time was in 2017 when SRH were the champions and RCB were the runners up.
For SRH, it will be their second appearance in an IPL opening match. For RCB, it will be the seventh time.
Rajasthan Royals will play three matches in Guwahati during the first phase. The team will play its other home matches at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
Some teams will also use secondary venues this season. RCB will play two matches in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play three matches in Dharamsala.
Since the IPL started in 2008, the schedule has often been released in two parts when elections take place in India. This happened in 2009, 2014, 2019 and 2024.
