BCCI Delays IPL 2026 Schedule Amid Assembly Elections in Five States

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to announce the full schedule of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, despite tentative dates already being discussed. The upcoming IPL 2026 edition is expected to begin on March 26, 2026, and the final is likely to be played on May 31, 2026, but the complete fixture is yet to be decided.

According to a report in Dainik Jagran, the delay in the IPL 2026 schedule announcement is due to the assembly elections scheduled in April-May 2026. During a recent meeting of the IPL Governing Council, it was decided that the final schedule will be released only after the Election Commission of India announces the polling dates.

Assembly Elections Impacting IPL 2026 Dates

Assembly elections are set to take place in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and UT Puducherry during the same window as the IPL 2026 will be played. These states host several IPL matches every season, which is raising a huge security concern as both cricketing events and elections are getting colliding.

In the previous seasons, the BCCI made the IPL schedule, venues, and match timings so that both the IPL matches and the election could be conducted smoothly without any security concerns. With security forces heavily deployed for polling duties during the elections, BCCI needs to have clarity from the Election Commission before locking the IPL 2026 match dates.

​IPL 2026 Likely to be played across 18 Venues:

​Despite the uncertainty around the IPL 2026 dates, BCCI is working on other aspects as well so that the tournament can start on time. According to the reports, BCCI has proposed around 18 venues for IPL 2026. Most of the franchises have locked their home venues for the upcoming season.

Chennai, Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, New Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Dharamshala, Visakhapatnam, Guwahati, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Navi Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram.

RCB and RR yet to finalize their home grounds:

The IPL Governing Council has asked Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) to confirm their home venues for the upcoming IPL 2026 before January 27. The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is unlikely to host any IPL 2026 matches after the tragic stampede incident last year.

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