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The Indian Premier League is no more a faraway tournament at this point. Even though there has been no formal announcement of the schedule yet, it is expected that it will start on March 28. Amidst that, the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, are likely to assemble in their traditional home ground, Chinnaswamy Stadium, on March 15.

Since the unfortunate stampede last year in the RCB's victory procession, the stadium fought a good number of battles, starting from security to infrastructure, to finally get IPL back in 2016. On March 3, it was officially announced that Chinnaswamy will be hosting at least 5 of the home matches of RCB. Raipur will be hosting the other two due to previous commitments.

Meanwhile, the newly elected president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Venkatesh Prasad, officially announced that the RCB players are likely to unite here for their first practice session on March 15. Prasad clarified that the renovations of the stadiums are still underway, and they will be done within the timeline. Not only that, but the Unbox event will also be successfully hosted a week before the 2026 IPL's opening match. He said,

"Yes, there is some bit of work still left and as far as we are concerned, it is going to be delivered within the timelines that we have given the expert committee headed by Mr. Maheshwar Rao."

Prasad added,

“We have satisfied them to the best extent possible. They have repeated meetings here. They have come, even yesterday morning, to assess the works. The RCB is likely to assemble here on March 15, and the ticketed Unbox event will happen here a week ahead of the IPL's opening match."

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Well, following the Justice Cunha report on the 2025 stampede, the Karnataka State Cricket Association implemented safety reforms at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, including a 35,000 capacity cap, early gate access, separate queues, and free metro travel for ticket holders.

After reviewing upgrades, the Karnataka cabinet cleared the venue for IPL 2026. In 2026, the Chinnaswamy Stadium will not only host five of the home matches but is also likely to host one of the playoffs and the final match, given that the RCB are the defending champions.