The excitement for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season is palpable, with the tournament set to kick off on March 28. The inaugural match will see the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
With the schedule for the initial 20 matches now unveiled, fans can mark their calendars for the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) key matchups:
The season opener for MI will be against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Following that, the team will face off against Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 4 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The Hardik Pandya-led squad will then head to Guwahati to challenge Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 7, before returning to Wankhede Stadium for a highly anticipated game against RCB on April 12.
The complete schedule for this lucrative league will be made public once the dates for state elections are confirmed.
🚨 Breaking News 🚨
The first 20 matches of #TATAIPL 2026 will unfold between March 28 and April 12, 2026. Stay tuned for the full schedule after the announcement of election dates.
More details ▶️… pic.twitter.com/8Iq492v8TE
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 11, 2026
In the last season, RCB emerged victorious, defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Earlier this month, Santosh Menon, Secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), confirmed that M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will host five of RCB’s home games in IPL 2026, along with one playoff match and the grand finale.
Additionally, Bengaluru will play two of their home games at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Since June of last year, cricket at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has been on hold. After RCB’s championship win, thousands of fans celebrated outside the stadium, leading to a tragic stampede that resulted in 11 fatalities and numerous injuries.