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Fans on the internet have drawn attention to a rather bizarre coincidence in the Indian Premier League 2026 schedule which some believe could spell success for the Mumbai Indians in the upcoming season.

This trend started when the schedule for the new season of the tournament was released and the opening clash was revealed to be between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28. It was later pointed out by supporters that these were the same teams that played the first match of the 2017 edition.

Back in 2017, the tournament also commenced with a match between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and at the end of the season, the Mumbai Indians were crowned the champions. This has now led several fans to refer to the current schedule as a 'lucky omen' for the five-time IPL winners.

The social media is full of such tweets and many believe that a similar narrative might unfold, and the Mumbai Indians could claim their sixth IPL title in 2026. However, it is a fact that matches are not won on such luck and that it's solely the on-field performance that counts. Nevertheless, fans have been quick to spot the coincidence.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule for the first phase of the IPL 2026. In this period, Mumbai Indians have been scheduled to play four games, starting from March 29 until April 12.

The five-time champions will commence their 2026 campaign at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 29.

Following that, they will travel to the capital to play Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on April 4. Their third encounter will be against Rajasthan Royals on April 7 at ACA Stadium, Guwahati.

The final game in this phase will be a thrilling fixture against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede Stadium on April 12.

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The Mumbai Indians had a forgetful 2025 season as they were going through a transitional phase under captain Hardik Pandya. Some excellent performances were seen on an individual basis from players like Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Ryan Rickelton and Jasprit Bumrah but it was the overall performance from the team that was a cause for concern, and thus the Mumbai Indians ended up losing in Qualifier 2 against Punjab Kings.

However, the Mumbai Indians will hope for a much better campaign this year as with Hardik Pandya back at the helm of the ship and former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene back as coach, a quick recovery looks a possibility.

Whether this coincidence in the schedule truly leads to anything or not, only time will tell. However, till then fans have been enjoying the theory and hoping for the best.