Introduction
IPL 2026 Official Schedule Release Date and Time Table: The Indian Premier League is not just a cricket tournament — it is a global sporting festival followed by hundreds of millions of fans across continents. As anticipation builds for the next chapter of the league, the IPL 2026 official schedule release date and time table has become one of the most searched cricket topics worldwide, especially in India, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.
The 19th edition of the tournament, officially known as TATA IPL 2026, is expected to deliver another thrilling season filled with blockbuster clashes, packed stadiums, intense rivalries, and unforgettable performances. Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not yet published the final confirmed schedule on its official platform, several key details regarding dates, format, teams, venues, and fixtures have already emerged.
This comprehensive news-style report provides everything fans need to know — from the expected schedule and match timetable to team squads, venues, playoff format, ticket prices, and historical records — written entirely in original, copyright‑free language and optimized for global Google rankings.
IPL 2026 Overview
The Indian Premier League was launched in 2008 by the BCCI and has since evolved into the world’s most valuable T20 cricket league. Over the years, the tournament has transformed how cricket is played, watched, and commercialised.
IPL 2026 marks the 19th season of the competition and continues with the ten‑team format introduced in recent editions. The tournament will once again feature league matches followed by playoffs, ensuring nearly two months of nonstop cricket entertainment.
Key Highlights of IPL 2026
- Tournament Name: TATA Indian Premier League 2026
- Season: 19th Edition
- Format: Twenty20 (T20)
- Administrator: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
- Total Teams: 10
- Total Matches: 74
- Tournament Duration: March to May 2026
IPL 2026 Official Schedule Release Date
One of the biggest questions among fans is regarding the IPL 2026 official schedule release date and time table.
As per reliable cricketing sources, the BCCI is expected to announce the complete IPL 2026 schedule in February 2026. Traditionally, the board releases the fixtures around four to six weeks before the opening match to allow franchises, broadcasters, and state associations adequate preparation time.
The confirmed schedule will be published on:
- Official IPL platform
- BCCI communication channels
- Verified IPL social media accounts
Until that announcement, all match listings remain tentative.
IPL 2026 Start Date and Final Match Date
According to current planning and internal timelines:
- IPL 2026 Start Date: 26 March 2026
- IPL 2026 Final Date: 31 May 2026
The season will run for nearly 67 days, including league matches, playoffs, and rest days for teams.
The opening match is likely to be played at a marquee venue featuring the defending champions.
IPL 2026 Tournament Format Explained
The competition format remains unchanged from the previous editions.
League Stage Format
- Each of the 10 teams will play 14 league matches
- 7 home matches
- 7 away matches
- Total league games: 70
Qualification Rules
- Top four teams qualify for playoffs
- Ranking determined by points and net run rate
Playoff Structure
- Qualifier 1: 1st vs 2nd
- Eliminator: 3rd vs 4th
- Qualifier 2: Loser of Q1 vs Winner of Eliminator
- Final: Winners of Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2
This format rewards consistency while still allowing lower‑ranked teams a fair opportunity to reach the final.
IPL 2026 Schedule Summary Table
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Tournament | TATA IPL 2026 |
| Season | 19th Edition |
| Total Teams | 10 |
| Total Matches | 74 |
| League Matches | 70 |
| Playoff Matches | 4 |
| Start Date | 26 March 2026 |
| Final Date | 31 May 2026 |
| Match Timings | 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM IST |
| Official Schedule | To be announced |
IPL 2026 Match Timings
The match timings will follow the traditional IPL broadcast structure:
- Afternoon Matches: 3:30 PM IST
- Evening Matches: 7:30 PM IST
Weekend double‑headers are expected throughout the tournament, increasing viewership across global time zones.
IPL 2026 Tentative Match Time Table
Until the official release, the following match list remains provisional and based on scheduling patterns from previous seasons.
IPL 2026 Tentative Fixtures Table
| Date | Match | Time | Venue |
| 31 Mar | RCB vs PBKS | 7:30 PM | Bengaluru |
| 01 Apr | CSK vs MI | 7:30 PM | Chennai |
| 02 Apr | RR vs KKR | 7:30 PM | Guwahati |
| 03 Apr | DC vs SRH | 7:30 PM | Delhi |
| 04 Apr | GT vs LSG | 7:30 PM | Ahmedabad |
| 05 Apr | MI vs RCB | 3:30 PM | Mumbai |
| 05 Apr | PBKS vs DC | 7:30 PM | Mohali |
The complete 74‑match fixture list will be officially confirmed by the BCCI.
IPL 2026 Playoff Schedule (Tentative)
| Match | Date | Time | Venue |
| Qualifier 1 | 28 May 2026 | 7:30 PM | TBA |
| Eliminator | 29 May 2026 | 7:30 PM | TBA |
| Qualifier 2 | 30 May 2026 | 7:30 PM | TBA |
| Final | 31 May 2026 | 7:30 PM | TBA |
IPL 2026 Teams List
The following ten franchises will compete in the 19th edition:
- Chennai Super Kings
- Mumbai Indians
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru
- Kolkata Knight Riders
- Rajasthan Royals
- Gujarat Titans
- Delhi Capitals
- Punjab Kings
- Sunrisers Hyderabad
- Lucknow Super Giants
IPL 2026 Venues
| City | Franchise | Stadium |
| Bengaluru | RCB | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium |
| Chennai | CSK | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium |
| Mumbai | MI | Wankhede Stadium |
| Kolkata | KKR | Eden Gardens |
| Ahmedabad | GT | Narendra Modi Stadium |
| Jaipur | RR | Sawai Mansingh Stadium |
| Guwahati | RR | Barsapara Stadium |
| Hyderabad | SRH | Rajiv Gandhi Stadium |
| Lucknow | LSG | Ekana Stadium |
| Delhi | DC | Arun Jaitley Stadium |
| Mohali | PBKS | PCA Stadium |
To Be Continued
This article will continue with:
- Complete team‑wise squad lists
- Captains and leadership analysis
- IPL 2026 auction overview
- Points table format
- Ticket booking guide
- Expected ticket prices
- IPL winners history (2008–2025)
- Frequently asked questions
- Final SEO summary
IPL 2026 Team Squads and Players List
The excitement surrounding the IPL 2026 official schedule release date and time table is closely followed by equal interest in team combinations and squad strength. After the mega auction and retention process, all ten franchises have finalised their core groups for the upcoming season.
Below is a detailed, rewritten, and easy-to-read breakdown of every team’s full squad.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Squad IPL 2026
Retained Players
- Travis Head (Overseas)
- Abhishek Sharma
- Aniket Verma
- R. Smaran
- Ishan Kishan
- Heinrich Klaasen (Overseas)
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Harsh Dubey
- Kamindu Mendis (Overseas)
- Harshal Patel
- Brydon Carse (Overseas)
- Pat Cummins (Overseas, Captain)
- Jaydev Unadkat
- Eshan Malinga (Overseas)
- Zeeshan Ansari
Auction Additions
- Liam Livingstone (Overseas)
- Shivam Mavi
- Jack Edwards (Overseas)
- Shivang Kumar
- Salil Arora
- Krains Fuletra
- Praful Hinge
- Amit Kumar
- Onkar Tarmale
- Sakib Hussain
Sunrisers Hyderabad enter IPL 2026 with a powerful pace attack and explosive overseas batting depth.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Squad IPL 2026
Retained Players
- Virat Kohli
- Rajat Patidar (Captain)
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Tim David (Overseas)
- Phil Salt (Overseas)
- Jitesh Sharma
- Krunal Pandya
- Jacob Bethell (Overseas)
- Romario Shepherd (Overseas)
- Swapnil Singh
- Josh Hazlewood (Overseas)
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Rasikh Salam
- Yash Dayal
- Suyash Sharma
- Nuwan Thushara (Overseas)
- Abhinandan Singh
Auction Picks
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Jacob Duffy (Overseas)
- Jordan Cox (Overseas)
- Mangesh Yadav
- Satvik Deswal
- Kanishk Chouhan
- Vihaan Malhotra
- Vicky Ostwal
RCB will once again look to end their long title wait with a balanced squad built around experience and youth.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) Squad IPL 2026
Retained Players
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Riyan Parag (Captain)
- Dhruv Jurel
- Shimron Hetmyer (Overseas)
- Shubham Dubey
- Vaibhav Suryavanshi
- Lhuan-dre Pretorius (Overseas)
- Yudhvir Singh Charak
- Jofra Archer (Overseas)
- Tushar Deshpande
- Sandeep Sharma
- Kwena Maphaka (Overseas)
- Nandre Burger (Overseas)
Traded Players
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Sam Curran (Overseas)
- Donovan Ferreira (Overseas)
Auction Picks
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Adam Milne (Overseas)
- Kuldeep Sen
- Sushant Mishra
- Vignesh Puthur
- Aman Rao
Rajasthan Royals boast one of the most versatile all-round squads of IPL 2026.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) Squad IPL 2026
Retained Players
- Shreyas Iyer (Captain)
- Prabhsimran Singh
- Shashank Singh
- Nehal Wadhera
- Vishnu Vinod
- Harnoor Pannu
- Marcus Stoinis (Overseas)
- Marco Jansen (Overseas)
- Azmatullah Omarzai (Overseas)
- Harpreet Brar
- Arshdeep Singh
- Yuzvendra Chahal
- Lockie Ferguson (Overseas)
- Xavier Bartlett (Overseas)
Auction Picks
- Cooper Connolly (Overseas)
- Ben Dwarshuis (Overseas)
- Vishal Nishad
- Pravin Dubey
Punjab Kings appear stronger than ever in bowling depth and leadership stability.
Mumbai Indians (MI) Squad IPL 2026
Retained Players
- Rohit Sharma
- Hardik Pandya (Captain)
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Tilak Varma
- Ryan Rickelton (Overseas)
- Robin Minz
- Will Jacks (Overseas)
- Mitchell Santner (Overseas)
- Trent Boult (Overseas)
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Deepak Chahar
- Raj Bawa
- Naman Dhir
- Mayank Markande
Traded & Auction Players
- Shardul Thakur
- Sherfane Rutherford (Overseas)
- Quinton de Kock (Overseas)
- Atharva Ankolekar
Mumbai Indians once again field a championship-ready squad combining star power and match-winners.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Squad IPL 2026
Retained Players
- Rishabh Pant (Captain)
- Nicholas Pooran (Overseas)
- Ayush Badoni
- Abdul Samad
- Aiden Markram (Overseas)
- Mitchell Marsh (Overseas)
- Shahbaz Ahmed
- Mayank Yadav
- Avesh Khan
- Mohsin Khan
Traded & Auction Picks
- Mohammed Shami
- Arjun Tendulkar
- Anrich Nortje (Overseas)
- Wanindu Hasaranga (Overseas)
- Josh Inglis (Overseas)
LSG possess one of the strongest pace attacks of IPL 2026.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Squad IPL 2026
Retained Players
- Ajinkya Rahane (Captain)
- Rinku Singh
- Sunil Narine (Overseas)
- Varun Chakravarthy
- Harshit Rana
- Umran Malik
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Manish Pandey
Auction Picks
- Cameron Green (Overseas)
- Matheesha Pathirana (Overseas)
- Finn Allen (Overseas)
- Mustafizur Rahman (Overseas)
- Rachin Ravindra (Overseas)
KKR enter IPL 2026 with explosive all-round depth and strong overseas firepower.
Gujarat Titans (GT) Squad IPL 2026
Retained Players
- Shubman Gill (Captain)
- Sai Sudharsan
- Jos Buttler (Overseas)
- Glenn Phillips (Overseas)
- Washington Sundar
- Rahul Tewatia
- Rashid Khan (Overseas)
- Kagiso Rabada (Overseas)
- Mohammed Siraj
- Prasidh Krishna
Auction Picks
- Jason Holder (Overseas)
- Tom Banton (Overseas)
- Luke Wood (Overseas)
Gujarat Titans continue to build a squad around balance and match awareness.
Delhi Capitals (DC) Squad IPL 2026
Retained Players
- KL Rahul
- Axar Patel (Captain)
- Tristan Stubbs (Overseas)
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mukesh Kumar
- T. Natarajan
- Mitchell Starc (Overseas)
- Karun Nair
Auction Picks
- David Miller (Overseas)
- Ben Duckett (Overseas)
- Pathum Nissanka (Overseas)
- Lungi Ngidi (Overseas)
- Prithvi Shaw
Delhi Capitals have focused heavily on experienced international talent.
IPL 2026 Team Captains
| Team | Captain |
| Chennai Super Kings | Ruturaj Gaikwad |
| Mumbai Indians | Hardik Pandya |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Rajat Patidar |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | Ajinkya Rahane |
| Rajasthan Royals | Riyan Parag |
| Gujarat Titans | Shubman Gill |
| Punjab Kings | Shreyas Iyer |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | Pat Cummins |
| Delhi Capitals | Axar Patel |
| Lucknow Super Giants | Rishabh Pant |
IPL 2026 Points Table Format
| Result | Points |
| Win | 2 |
| Loss | 0 |
| Tie / No Result | 1 |
Net Run Rate (NRR) will be used as the tie-breaker if teams finish on equal points.
IPL 2026 Ticket Booking Guide
Fans can book IPL tickets through official ticketing partners once sales go live.
Online Booking Steps
- Visit BookMyShow or District platform
- Log in or create an account
- Select IPL 2026 match
- Choose stadium stand and seat
- Make payment using UPI, card, or wallet
- Receive e-ticket via email or SMS
Tickets are expected to sell out quickly due to high demand.
Expected IPL 2026 Ticket Prices
| Team | Starting Price | Maximum Price |
| RCB | ₹2,300 | ₹42,000 |
| MI | ₹990 | ₹15,000 |
| CSK | ₹1,700 | ₹8,500 |
| KKR | ₹750 | ₹28,000 |
| RR | ₹1,000 | ₹22,000 |
| PBKS | ₹499 | ₹8,500 |
| SRH | ₹750 | ₹30,000 |
| LSG | ₹399 | ₹20,000 |
| GT | ₹499 | ₹10,000 |
| DC | ₹1,200 | ₹7,500 |
Prices may vary depending on venue and match importance.
IPL Winners List (2008–2025)
| Year | Champion |
| 2008 | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2009 | Deccan Chargers |
| 2010 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2011 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2012 | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2013 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2014 | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2015 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 2017 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2018 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2019 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2020 | Mumbai Indians |
| 2021 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2022 | Gujarat Titans |
| 2023 | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2024 | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2025 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
| 2026 | To Be Decided |
Conclusion:
The IPL 2026 official schedule release date and time table remains one of the most anticipated announcements in world cricket. With ten competitive teams, world-class players, iconic venues, and nearly two months of action-packed cricket, TATA IPL 2026 promises to be bigger, louder, and more thrilling than ever.
Once the BCCI releases the confirmed fixtures and downloadable PDF schedule, this article will be updated immediately with verified information.
Until then, fans can prepare themselves for another unforgettable IPL season filled with passion, drama, and cricketing excellence.
FAQ
When will IPL 2026 begin?
IPL 2026 is expected to start on 26 March 2026.
When will the official schedule be released?
The IPL 2026 official schedule release date and time table is expected in February 2026.
Will MS Dhoni play IPL 2026?
Yes, MS Dhoni has been retained by Chennai Super Kings and is expected to feature in IPL 2026.
Where will the IPL 2026 auction be held?
The auction is scheduled to take place on 16 December in Abu Dhabi.




























