Top News

New Delhi, 6 April. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the schedule of playoff matches including the final of Tata Indian Premier League (IPL-19) 2026. As per the scheduled schedule, the final of the current season will be played on May 31 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The first qualifier will be played in Dharamshala while the eliminator and second qualifier will be played in New Chandigarh. After this the tournament will conclude in Ahmedabad.

Earlier it was decided that this time the final will be held in Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The most notable fact about the playoff schedule at present is that Bengaluru has been stripped of hosting the final. Earlier it was decided that M Chinnaswamy Stadium would host the final. But BCCI has shifted it to Ahmedabad. Apart from last year, Ahmedabad has also hosted the final in 2022 and 2023.

However, the board has cited operational and logistical reasons as the reason behind this decision. But it has been claimed in many media reports that the recent controversy regarding free IPL tickets for Karnataka MLAs has also played an important role in this decision behind the scenes.

against old tradition

Due to this decision of BCCI, Bengaluru will not only miss hosting the final, but will also not get a chance to play any match of the playoff. This is against the old tradition of IPL, under which the current champion team gets the right to host the title match.

Qualifiers and eliminators will be played in Dharamshala and New Chandigarh

BCCI said in a press release, ‘Qualifier 1 will be played on May 26 at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala. The two teams at the top of the points table will participate in this match. The winner of this match will get direct entry into the final. After this, the matches will be held at the New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, where the eliminator match will be played on May 27 between the third and fourth placed teams. Qualifier 2 will also be played in the same stadium on May 29. The winning team in the Eliminator will face the losing team in Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2. The winning team of this match will reach the final.

KSCA expressed disappointment on BCCI’s decision

Meanwhile, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) expressed disappointment over BCCI’s decision to shift the IPL final from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad. KSCA President Venkatesh Prasad had announced at the beginning of IPL 2026 that BCCI has decided to hand over the hosting of seven matches to Bengaluru. These included five home matches of RCB, a playoff and the final.

KSCA official spokesperson Vinay Mrutyunjay said in Bengaluru, ‘KSCA expresses its disappointment that the hosting of IPL playoff matches has been handed over to other centres. KSCA President Venkatesh Prasad has been in touch with the BCCI in this regard and has also formally conveyed KSCA’s readiness and keen interest to host the IPL playoffs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Mrityunjay said the BCCI has not yet revealed ‘specific reasons’ for shifting the playoff matches to other centres. He said, ‘Despite our preparation and willingness to host the playoffs, the BCCI has decided to hand over the hosting of these matches to other venues. Although KSCA has not been formally informed of the specific reasons for this, we fully respect BCCI’s prerogative in this regard.

11 fans were killed in a stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium during the celebration of RCB’s title win.

It is noteworthy that last year, 11 fans were killed in a stampede during RCB’s victory celebration at Chinnaswamy Stadium. After this no international match was played in this stadium. Despite not getting the opportunity to host IPL playoff matches at present, Mrityunjay reiterated that KSCA is now fully prepared to host matches at all levels.