Although the full fixture list has not yet been finalized, the IPL 2026 season is anticipated to begin on March 26 and conclude on May 31.

It was reportedly resolved at a meeting of the IPL Governing Council on Tuesday that the schedule would not be finalized and made public until the Election Commission announced the dates of the impending assembly elections in five states.

West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry are scheduled to hold assembly elections in April and May.

Dainik Jagran has reported that BCCI wants 18 venues across India to host the IPL 2026 matches, including venues in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Assam. The final plan is still on hold, though, as the Election Commission has not yet announced the election dates.

The 18 venues in line to host IPL 2026 matches are Delhi, Lucknow, Dharamsala, New Chandigarh, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Navi Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Guwahati, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Pune, Ranchi, and Raipur.

On the other hand, the IPL Governing Council has requested Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) to confirm their home fixtures in Bengaluru and Jaipur by January 27.

Defending champions RCB are considering scheduling home games at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium and Raipur due to uncertainties surrounding the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Bengaluru venue has not held any cricket-related events since a fatal stampede outside the stadium last year.

An investigation into the Bengaluru stampede found that the tragedy occurred due to a massive failure in crowd management. In response, RCB recently offered to pay for the modifications and suggested to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) that 300–350 AI-enabled cameras be installed throughout the stadium to enhance crowd control.

Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Cricket Association’s (RCA) internal issues have prevented it from convincing the BCCI of its readiness to host IPL matches, which has put Jaipur’s availability as a venue in doubt.

(Dainik Jagran report)