Ahmedabad to host IPL 2026 final; Bengaluru loses hosting rights
What's the story
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the revised schedule for the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs. The final will now be held at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on May 31. M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was earlier supposed to be the host. Notably, the Ahmedabad venue will host the fourth IPL final, having previously done so in 2022, 2023, and 2025.
Venue change
Bengaluru loses IPL 2026 final hosting rights
The BCCI has announced that Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium will not host the IPL 2026 final. The decision comes after the Karnataka State Cricket Association failed to meet certain requirements for staging the event. A statement from BCCI said, "Bengaluru was originally designated to host the Final. However, owing to certain requirements from the local association and authorities that were beyond the scope of BCCI's established guidelines and protocols, the venue has been shifted and reassigned."
Match locations
IPL 2026 playoffs to be held at three venues
As per the revised itinerary, the IPL 2026 playoffs will be conducted at three venues. Qualifier 1, between the top two teams from the league stage, will be played at HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on May 26. The Eliminator and Qualifier 2 will take place in New Chandigarh on May 27 and May 29, respectively.
Twitter Post
Official announcement from the IPL
Owing to certain operational and logistical considerations, the TATA IPL 2026 Playoffs will be conducted across three venues this season as a special case.
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 6, 2026
Bengaluru was originally designated to host the Final. However, owing to certain requirements from the local association…
Shift
Why not Bengaluru?
As reported earlier, Bengaluru's chances of hosting the final looked bleak due to ongoing political issues over MLA tickets. A BCCI source recently told ANI these complications could force the board to consider other cities as potential hosts for the grand finale. Ahead of the IPL 2026 opener between RCB and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashappanavar demanded at least five IPL tickets for every MLA. The venue was already under fire after RCB's title victory stampede last season.
Venue history
RCB won their maiden title in Ahmedabad last year
The Narendra Modi Stadium has been a regular host for IPL finals, having hosted the event in 2022, 2023, and 2025. Last year, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs to win their maiden title. The two teams are likely to clash again in the playoffs, with PBKS leading the standings. And RCB are second on the points table with 12 points after winning six out of nine matches.