Jaipur Venue Issue Resolved, But…
The dispute over the Rajasthan Royals' home venues has been settled, with four matches confirmed in jaipur and three in Guwahati. However, despite this breakthrough, the Board of Control for cricket in india (BCCI) continues to delay the complete schedule announcement for IPL 2026 due to larger logistical challenges.
State assembly elections a Major Hurdle
Assembly elections in West Bengal, tamil Nadu, and assam remain the biggest roadblock. These states host key IPL franchises, including chennai Super Kings (Chennai), kolkata Knight Riders (Kolkata), and Rajasthan Royals’ Guwahati fixtures. During elections, state police forces are fully deployed for polling and counting duties, making it extremely difficult to provide security for high-profile IPL matches.
The bcci is awaiting official polling dates from the election commission to avoid clashes with voting schedules.
T20 world cup Stadium Occupancy
The ongoing ICC Men's T20 world cup, hosted in india and Sri Lanka, has further complicated matters. Major IPL venues in Delhi, kolkata, Mumbai, chennai, and Ahmedabad are currently occupied. With the world cup final scheduled for march 8, the cricket board requires additional time for stadium handover, pitch restoration, and branding transition before IPL 2026, which is expected to begin around march 26.
Bengaluru Safety Compliance Review
Defending champions royal challengers Bengaluru have received only conditional clearance to host matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Following the tragic stampede during their 2025 title celebrations, authorities are carefully reviewing revised crowd-management protocols, entry-exit plans, and seating arrangements before approving full-capacity games.
Likely Two-Phase Schedule Release
To avoid prolonged uncertainty, BCCI is expected to follow a strategy used in previous election years. An initial schedule covering the first two to three weeks of IPL 2026 may be released soon, while the remaining fixtures will be finalized once election dates and security clearances are confirmed.
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