By Vipul Kashyap

New Delhi [India], March 10 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia said that the schedule for the first 20 days of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be announced within the next two to three days after looking at the election dates in a few states.

The upcoming Indian Premier League 2026 season will officially kick off on March 28, broadcaster Star Sports confirmed on Sunday. The official announcement came ahead of the India vs New Zealand ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The announcement of the tournament's schedule will be two-phased, with state assembly elections set to take place in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the next coming months.

Speaking to ANI, Saikia said, 'We will announce the first 20-day schedule of IPL in 2 or 3 days after considering the election dates in a few states and will announce the rest of the tournament schedule later.'

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are the defending champions. The Bengaluru-based franchise defeated Punjab Kings in the 2025 edition summit clash by six runs in Ahmedabad. Earlier this month, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Secretary, Santosh Menon, confirmed that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will host five of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 home games. He also confirmed that the venue will host the IPL 2026 final, along with one of the play-off matches in the tournament.

Notably, RCB's remaining two home matches of their IPL 2026 campaign will be held at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

Cricket at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium had been suspended since June last year after 11 people died and several were injured in a stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2025 title celebration, with the stadium not hosting its share of ICC Women's World Cup fixtures and got no matches for the recently-concluded ICC T20 World Cup either. Even the domestic and state franchise-based tournaments had been affected by this suspension placed on the iconic venue. (ANI)