Mumbai: The 19th Indian Premier League will be held from March 26 to May 31 but it remains to be seen if defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home base gets a game after a deadly stampede halted all big-ticket cricket at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
As per established norms, the Chinnaswamy should host the tournament opener given the home side, RCB, won the IPL 2025 title but that is unlikely to be clear till the time BCCI comes out with the full-scale schedule.
The venue was witness to chaos and a stampede, which left 11 dead, after RCB’s trophy celebrations drew lakhs on the streets, that was well over the state machinery’s capacity to handle at a short notice in June this year.
While the venue has received conditional clearance from the Karnataka government, it also needs to meet the necessary safety and security standards following the deaths. The franchise had drawn intense criticism for encouraging people to come out for the street celebrations without requisite clearances from government agencies.
“Every year, the IPL opening match traditionally takes place at the home ground of the team that won the trophy in the previous season,” recently-elected KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad told reporters in Mysuru.
“But there was some uncertainty due to the stampede during RCB’s IPL championship celebrations on June 4. So, I’ve held discussions with the BCCI about hosting the opening match in Bengaluru, and they are also discussing on the issue,” he added.
After the stampede, Bengaluru lost the Women’s World Cup matches held earlier this year due to security and administrative issues.
The mini-auction for IPL 2026 will be held in Abu Dhabi today with three-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders coming in with the biggest purse.–(PTI)
