Venues
 | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2025) |
| Dates | 26 March – 31 May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Board of Control for Cricket in India |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Double round-robin and playoffs |
| Participants | 10 |
| Matches | 84 |
| Official website | iplt20 |
| Teams |
|---|
| See also |
| Note: Teams are listed per the playing order. |
The 2026 Indian Premier League, also known as IPL 19 and branded as TATA IPL 2026, will be the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league. The tournament will feature 10 teams competing in 84 matches. It will be held from 26 March to 31 May 2026. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the defending champions.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league held in India, organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It is held annually since the first edition in 2008. [1] Royal Challengers Bengaluru were the defending champions, having won their maiden title in the previous season after defeating Punjab Kings in the final. [2]
The IPL Governing Council announced that the IPL would expand to 84 matches from 2026 onwards [3] and is expected to expand to 94 matches from 2028 onwards with the return of the complete double round-robin format that was used until 2021. [4]
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. [5] 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. [6] 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. [7] 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. [8]
Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹9.2 crore (US$1.1 million) in the auction. [9] Following 2025 Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence and lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in December 2025 led to calls for exclusion of Bangladeshi players from IPL. [10] In January 2026, the BCCI requested that the franchise release Rahman from the squad and permitted them to select a replacement player. [11] This move was criticized by former Indian cricketer Madan Lal, [12] Congress politician Shashi Tharoor, [13] and former Bangladeshi captains Khaled Mahmud and Mohammad Ashraful [14] while former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra, [15] BJP politician Sangeet Singh Som defended BCCI's move. [16]
This led the BCCI to put the Indian tour of Bangladesh on hold due to tensions. [17] Furthermore, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has requested the International Cricket Council to shift their matches at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup which is to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka out of India, similar to that of Pakistan's. [18] [19] Bangladeshi government also banned the broadcast of IPL in their country. [20]
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). [21]
JioStar's Star Sports and JioHotstar, currently holds the satellite and digital broadcasting rights for the remainder of the 2023–2027 cycle respectively. [22]
The same 10 teams from the previous season returned.
| Team | 2025 performance [23] | Head coach [24] | Captain [24] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chennai Super Kings | 10th | Stephen Fleming | Ruturaj Gaikwad |
| Delhi Capitals | 5th | Hemang Badani | Axar Patel |
| Gujarat Titans | 4th | Ashish Nehra | Shubman Gill |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 8th | Abhishek Nayar | Ajinkya Rahane |
| Lucknow Super Giants | 7th | Justin Langer | Rishabh Pant |
| Mumbai Indians | 3rd | Mahela Jayawardene | Hardik Pandya |
| Punjab Kings | Runners-up | Ricky Ponting | Shreyas Iyer |
| Rajasthan Royals | 9th | Kumar Sangakkara | Ravindra Jadeja |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Champions | Andy Flower | Rajat Patidar |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 6th | Daniel Vettori | Pat Cummins |
The franchises were required to submit their retention lists before 15 November 2025, [25] and a total of 173 players were retained ahead of the auction. [26] The auction was held on 16 December 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. [27] with the auction purse for each franchise set at ₹125 crore (US$15 million). [28] 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. [29] [30] 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). [31] 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. [32] 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. [33]
| | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (December 2025) |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chennai Super Kings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to Qualifier 1 |
| 2 | Delhi Capitals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | Gujarat Titans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advance to Eliminator |
| 4 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | Lucknow Super Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 6 | Mumbai Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 7 | Punjab Kings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 8 | Rajasthan Royals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 9 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 10 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Team | Group matches | Playoffs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | E | Q2 | F | |
| Win | Loss | No result |
| Visitor team → |
|---|
| Home team ↓ |
| | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2026) |
| Qualifier 1 | Qualifier 2 | Final | |||||||||||
| 31 May 2026 | |||||||||||||
| 1 | 1st placed team | Q1W | Winner of Qualifier 1 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 2nd placed team | Q2W | Winner of Qualifier 2 | ||||||||||
| Q1L | Loser of Qualifier 1 | ||||||||||||
| Eliminator | EW | Winner of Eliminator | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3rd placed team | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 4th placed team | ||||||||||||
Qualifier 1 May 2026 |
1st placed team | v | 2nd placed team |
Eliminator May 2026 |
3rd placed team | v | 4th placed team |
Qualifier 2 May 2026 |
Loser of Qualifier 1 | v | Winner of Eliminator |
Final 31 May 2026 |
Winner of Qualifier 1 | v | Winner of Qualifier 2 |
JioStar also owns the domestic broadcast and streaming rights to the IPL [...]
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