The schedule for the long-awaited 2026 season Indian Premier League (IPL) along with will be presented soon Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) BTSO secretary who confirmed that the first round of fixtures will be announced by March 12 Devajit Saikia He announced that only the initial 20 days of the tournament schedule will be announced first, while the rest of the appointments will be confirmed later due to logistical considerations related to the upcoming state assembly elections.
First IPL 2026 fixtures will be announced
Speaking about the planning of the tournament, Saikia said that the board intends to share the schedule of the opening round of the competition in the next few days. The 19th edition of the IPL is now scheduled to run from March 28 to May 31, a slight shift from the originally proposed window of March 26 to May 30.
According to Saikia, the announcement of the first part of the schedule will allow preparations for the tournament to move forward and give the board flexibility to finalize the remaining matches later.
“We plan to announce the IPL 2026 schedule by March 12. For now, we will publish the schedule for the first 20 days” Saikia said while addressing the update.
The decision to stagger the announcement is primarily due to parliamentary elections in West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu. As election-related security measures may affect venue availability and travel logistics, the BCCI wants to ensure there are no scheduling conflicts before finalizing the rest of the tournament schedule.
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Franchises in full gear
While the official schedule is awaiting confirmation, the IPL franchises have already started their pre-season training and preparations. Teams are keen to ensure their squads are ready for the match ahead of what promises to be another intense edition of the league.
Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings was among the earliest to start preparations. The franchise began training at the High Performance Center in Navalur on March 1. captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and legendary keeper-batter MS Dhoni Both of them excited the fans by participating in the first training session.
The defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru also held a short training camp at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai in early February. Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans, who have lifted the IPL title in 2022, have held multiple training sessions at the Miraj International Cricket Stadium in Nathdwara as they begin to fine-tune their team combinations.
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