The 19th season of the Indian Premier League will kick off on 28th March. The defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad, will clash in the opening clash at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The schedule for the opening 20 games of the season was released by the BCCI a fortnight ago.
However, with state elections in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, the full schedule of the upcoming season could not be released. Possible lack of security in Kolkata and Chennai was the reason behind the delay in announcing the schedule. Two of the biggest franchises in the league, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, have their home games in election-bound states.
The Election Commission of India recently announced dates of elections in the aforementioned states. With the announcement of dates, it is being reported that the full schedule of the grand league could be announced in the next three to four days before the opening clash of the season.
IPL 2026 schedule to be out in 3-4 days
🚨|📝BCCI has informed the 10 teams that it will take 3-4 days to finalise the remainder of the #IPL2026 schedule! (Cricbuzz) pic.twitter.com/wMufD1D4jm
— Sunil Kumar Patra (@Sunilkp1309) March 22, 2026
The full schedule of the upcoming Indian Premier League season could be out in the next three to four days. According to Cricbuzz, the BCCI has reportedly told the 10 IPL teams that the schedule could be announced in the upcoming days. The season will kick off on the 28th of March with RCB hosting SRH at Chinnaswamy Stadium. The schedule for the first 20 games of the season was announced on the 11th of March.
Why is the IPL 2026 schedule being announced in two phases?
“IPL 2026 will be held on schedule. We have released the schedule for 20 matches. The schedule for remaining matches will be released after the Election Commission announces the dates for states going to the election,” says BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla. pic.twitter.com/Y2d45cY3Ia
— ANI (@ANI) March 12, 2026
The IPL 2026 schedule is being announced in two phases due to the impending state elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Kerala. The Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, two of the most successful teams, have their home grounds in the above-mentioned states.
Holding IPL games at the same time as the date of the vote polling could not have been possible with security forces involved at polling stations. The lack of security would prove to be a danger in hosting matches at Eden Gardens and MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Will home games be held in Kolkata and Chennai?
With state elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the home games for KKR and CSK are set to be disrupted. The Knight Riders will be playing three home games in the first phase of the league. Five-time champions, Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, would play two home games in the initial set of games.
In West Bengal, polling will be done in two phases on 23rd April and 29th April. It is expected that KKR will not be playing any home games on these two dates. To be extra secure, there is a chance that the three-time champions do not play home games during the week of the elections.
In Tamil Nadu, the polling will be held on 23rd April. The Super Kings will not play home games around the day of polling and might be travelling for away games around the date of the polls.
