2026 Indian Premier League

The 2026 Indian Premier League, also known as IPL 19 and branded as TATA IPL 2026, is the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league. The tournament features 10 teams competing in 74 matches. It is being played from 28 March to 31 May across 13 venues.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the defending champions.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league, organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It has held annually since the first edition in 2008. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the defending champions, having won their maiden title in the previous season after defeating Punjab Kings in the final.

The group format has been reversed to be similar to that of 2023 IPL. Each team will play once against the teams in their group and twice against the teams in the other group. After the group stage, the top four teams, based on aggregate points, would advance to the playoffs. In this stage, the top two teams compete with each other (in a match titled "Qualifier 1"), as do the remaining two teams (in a match titled "Eliminator"). While the winner of Qualifier 1 would directly qualify for the final match, the losing team had another chance to qualify for the final match by competing against the winning team of the Eliminator (in a match titled "Qualifier 2"). The winner of this subsequent Qualifier 2 match advanced to the final match. Teams were seeded into groups based on the number of titles they have won.

The IPL Governing Council had initially announced that the IPL would expand to 84 matches for 2026 and 2027, with it expected to expand to 94 matches from 2028 onwards with the return of the complete double round-robin format that was used until 2021. However, the number of matches was kept as 74 for one more edition as it was in the previous four seasons.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the dates of the tournament window for the three seasons between 2025 and 2027 were sent to franchises ahead of the 2025 auction. In November 2024, the tentative dates for the three seasons were announced, with the 2026 edition set to take place from 15 March to 31 May. In December 2025, it was announced that the 2025 season would commence on 26 March to allow for a three-week gap after the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup final scheduled to take place on 8 March. In February 2026, it was announced that the 2026 season would commence 2 days later on 28 March. This led to a clash with the 2026 Pakistan Super League for the second consecutive year taking place from 26 March to 3 May 2026, which was again moved from its typical February–March window for the same reason.

In March 2026, it was announced that the fixtures for that season would be announced in two parts due to the State Assembly Elections in Assam, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal; for which the dates were not announced till 15 March. The first part of the schedule comprising the first twenty matches was announced on 11 March, with the inaugural match being hosted at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium between the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad on 28 March. The complete fixtures for the league stage were announced on 26 March. The playoffs schedule is yet to be announced.

Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹9.2 crore (US$1.1 million) in the auction. Following anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh during 2025 and the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in December 2025, there were calls for the exclusion of Bangladeshi players from the IPL. In January 2026, the BCCI requested that the franchise release Rahman from the squad and permitted them to select a replacement player. This move was criticized by former Indian cricketer Madan Lal, Congress politician Shashi Tharoor, and former Bangladeshi captains Khaled Mahmud and Mohammad Ashraful while former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra and BJP politician Sangeet Singh Som defended the BCCI's move.

This led the BCCI to put the Indian tour of Bangladesh on hold due to tensions. Furthermore, the Bangladesh Cricket Board requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift their matches at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup which was to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, out of India, similar to that of Pakistan's. But the request was rejected by the ICC, and Bangladesh ultimately withdrew from the T20 World Cup. The Bangladeshi government also banned the broadcast of IPL in their country. Following the 2026 Bangladeshi general election, the newly elected government clarified that the broadcast of the IPL is not banned anymore in their country.

The Tata Group renewed their contract as the title sponsors of the IPL for a tenure of 5 years (2024–2028) for ₹2,500 crore (US$300 million).

JioStar's Star Sports and JioHotstar, currently holds the satellite and digital broadcasting rights for the remainder of the 2023–2027 cycle respectively.

Team captains during a promotional event for the 2026 IPL.

The same 10 teams from the previous season returned.

The franchises were required to submit their retention lists before 15 November 2025, and a total of 173 players were retained ahead of the auction. The auction was held on 16 December 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. with the auction purse for each franchise set at ₹125 crore (US$15 million). A total of 1,355 players registered for the auction, of which 369 players were shortlisted to feature in the auction and 77 were sold in the auction. Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas player and the third most expensive player in the history of IPL when he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹25.20 crore (US$3.0 million). Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma became the joint-most expensive uncapped players in the history of IPL when they were both bought by Chennai Super Kings for ₹14.20 crore (US$1.7 million) each. Meanwhile the 79 unsold players notably included Jake Fraser-McGurk, Jonny Bairstow, Daryl Mitchell, Devon Conway, Alzarri Joseph, Gus Atkinson, Deepak Hooda and Karn Sharma.

The league stage is being played at 13 stadiums across India. The opening match was played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The HPCA Cricket Stadium will host three Punjab Kings home matches, the ACA Cricket Stadium will host three Rajasthan Royals matches, and the Nava Raipur Cricket Stadium will host two Royal Challengers Bengaluru matches. The playoffs' venues are yet to be confirmed.

• Source: ESPNcricinfo

• "IPL Season Schedule 2026 Part 1" (PDF). Indian Premier League Schedule. 19 (1). Board of Control for Cricket in India. 11 March 2026.

• "IPL Season Schedule 2026 Complete" (PDF). Indian Premier League Schedule. 19 (2). Board of Control for Cricket in India. 26 March 2026.

• Official website

• 2026 Indian Premier League at ESPNcricinfo