Rajasthan Royals (RR) are reportedly seeking a new home for IPL 2026 as they plan a move out of Jaipur. The report stated that RR has contacted the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and visited the Gahunje Cricket Stadium in Pune to check out the facilities.
This report comes amidst rumors of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) also seeking Pune as their new home for IPL 2026, owing to issues with M Chinnaswamy Stadium being unfit to host games after the stampede that happened after RCB’s IPL win this year.
Cricbuzz reported that RR has had "preliminary discussions" and emailed the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) to request permission to move four of its home games to the MCA Stadium in Gahunje, Pune.
According to the report, a strained relationship between RR and the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) made a change necessary last year. Jaydeep Bihani, an ad hoc committee chairperson at the RCA, declared in public last year that the RR vs. Lucknow Super Giants game was "fixed."
RR vehemently refuted the allegations, and some BCCI executives told the media via anonymous remarks that they were unfounded.
“Yes, they were here to find out details about the capacity of the stadium, the nature of the pitches, and hotels in the city. Our president, Mr. Rohit Pawar, is very keen that the IPL returns to the city. He is making all possible efforts,” an MCA official told Cricbuzz.
The Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, where RR usually hosts a few games each season, will host the final three games if the MCA Stadium holds four.
The article further stated that there is a remote possibility that RCB may move its games to Pune. This is after the Karnataka government has repeatedly deemed the Bengaluru stadium unfit for hosting games, following the stampede that led to the death of 11 people. This led to them losing the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 matches as well.
The franchise has requested time till the IPL 2026 auction in December, although the talks between RCB and MCA are not as far along. The MCA is faced with a conundrum: rejecting RR could result in the loss of both choices, even though RCB could generate significantly more revenue.
“The RCB interest is genuine, but there is no guarantee that they will relocate. Any such move will depend on a host of factors. It’s like a ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’ situation for us,” the MCA official stated.
Pune Super Giants, which played in IPL 2016 and 2017, had the Pune stadium as their home ground. Pune stadium hasn’t hosted an IPL game since 2022, when the tournament was played in three venues in Mumbai and Pune, with the playoffs staged in Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
(Cricbuzz inputs)
