The Indian Premier League (IPL) is still deliberating over which two cities will host the final phase of the ongoing season that got underway from March 28. The IPL Governing Council had released the schedule in two phases while awaiting the polling dates for the Assembly Elections in various states throughout the country.
However, it stated that an announcement on the venues for the IPL 2026 playoffs including the final will be made at a later date, and as per an India Today report, Bengaluru and New Chandigarh are the prime candidates.
As per the publication, the final call will be taken after considering various factors including logistics, travel arrangements, broadcast requirements among others.
The final is traditionally played at the home
ground of the defending champions.
With Royal Challengers Bengaluru being the title holders, the title clash will likely be held at their home venue.
74 Matches, 13 Venues
The 19th season of the IPL will have a total of 74 matches of which 70 will be played across 13 venues including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Raipur, and Dharamsala.
As per the schedule announced so far, Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium will host a total of five league matches with RCB slated to play two of their home matches in Raipur this time around.
The venue received clearance to host IPL matches nearly two weeks before the start of the competition following a Karnataka government-appointed Expert Committee’s approval. After the deadly stampede outside the venue last year, the stadium underwent upgrades before being allowed to host matches.
On the other hand, the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur (New Chandigarh), where Punjab Kings – the last year’s runners-up – play their home matches, will host four matches. PBKS will play three home games in Dharamsala.
The final is scheduled to be held on May 31.
