March 26 (Reuters) - The Indian Premier League is a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by the Indian board (BCCI).
First held in 2008, it quickly became the most lucrative cricket tournament in the world.
Here is what you need to know about the 19th edition of the competition which starts next month:
WHEN IS THE IPL HAPPENING?
- The 19th edition of the IPL runs from March 28 to May 31.
WHAT IS THE FORMAT OF THE IPL?
- The 10 participating teams play in a double round-robin format in which they play each other twice, once away and once at home.
- The top four teams in a unified points table qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams play each other in 'Qualifier 1' with the winners reaching the final.
- The teams placed third and fourth compete in an 'Eliminator' with the winners progressing to 'Qualifier 2' to face the losers of 'Qualifier 1' for a place in the final.
WHERE IS THE IPL TAKING PLACE?
- The IPL is held in the home cities of the franchises based across India. However, some teams may choose to split their home games between two or more cities.
- The 70 league matches of the 2026 edition will be played across 13 venues.
- M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the home ground of defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, will host the opening game.
- The other venues are - Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
IPL 2026 CAPTAINS, COACHES AND BEST PERFORMANCE
The following are the captains and coaches of the 10 teams, who will play in the competition through a league stage and the playoffs.
Chennai Super Kings
Captain: Ruturaj Gaikwad
Coach: Stephen Fleming
Best performance: Champions (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023)
Delhi Capitals
Captain: Axar Patel
Coach: Hemang Badani
Best Performance: Runners-up (2020)
Gujarat Titans
Captain: Shubman Gill
Coach: Ashish Nehra
Best performance: Champions (2022)
Kolkata Knight Riders
Captain: Ajinkya Rahane
Coach: Abhishek Nayar
Best performance: Champions (2012, 2014, 2024)
Lucknow Super Giants
Captain: Rishabh Pant
Coach: Justin Langer
Best performance: Playoffs (2022, 2023)
Mumbai Indians
Captain: Hardik Pandya
Coach: Mahela Jayawardene
Best performance: Champions (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020)
Punjab Kings
Captain: Shreyas Iyer
Coach: Ricky Ponting
Best performance: Runners-up (2014 and 2025)
Rajasthan Royals
Captain: Riyan Parag
Coach: Kumar Sangakkara
Best performance: Champions (2008)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Captain: Rajat Patidar
Coach: Andy Flower
Best performance: Champions (2025)
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Captain: Ishan Kishan/ Pat Cummins
Coach: Daniel Vettori
Best performance: Champions (2016)
IPL 2026 FIXTURES - 70 MATCHES
Matches will start at either 1930 IST (1400 GMT) or at 1530 IST (1000 GMT).
1. March 28 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Sunrisers Hyderabad (Bengaluru, 19:30 IST)
2. March 29 – Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders (Mumbai, 19:30 IST)
3. March 30 – Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings (Guwahati, 19:30 IST)
4. March 31 – Punjab Kings v Gujarat Titans (New Chandigarh, 19:30 IST)
5. April 1 – Lucknow Super Giants v Delhi Capitals (Lucknow, 19:30 IST)
6. April 2 – Kolkata Knight Riders v Sunrisers Hyderabad (Kolkata, 19:30 IST)
7. April 3 – Chennai Super Kings v Punjab Kings (Chennai, 19:30 IST)
8. April 4 – Delhi Capitals v Mumbai Indians (Delhi, 15:30 IST)
9. April 4 – Gujarat Titans v Rajasthan Royals (Ahmedabad, 19:30 IST)
10. April 5 – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Lucknow Super Giants (Hyderabad, 15:30 IST)
11. April 5 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Chennai Super Kings (Bengaluru, 19:30 IST)
12. April 6 – Kolkata Knight Riders v Punjab Kings (Kolkata, 19:30 IST)
13. April 7 – Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians (Guwahati, 19:30 IST)
14. April 8 – Delhi Capitals v Gujarat Titans (Delhi, 19:30 IST)
15. April 9 – Kolkata Knight Riders v Lucknow Super Giants (Kolkata, 19:30 IST)
16. April 10 – Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Guwahati, 19:30 IST)
17. April 11 – Punjab Kings v Sunrisers Hyderabad (New Chandigarh, 15:30 IST)
18. April 11 – Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Capitals (Chennai, 19:30 IST)
19. April 12 – Lucknow Super Giants v Gujarat Titans (Lucknow, 15:30 IST)
20. April 12 – Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Mumbai, 19:30 IST)
21. April 13 – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals (Hyderabad, 19:30 IST)
22. April 14 – Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders (Chennai, 19:30 IST)
23. April 15 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Lucknow Super Giants (Bengaluru, 19:30 IST)
24. April 16 – Mumbai Indians v Punjab Kings (Mumbai, 19:30 IST)
25. April 17 – Gujarat Titans v Kolkata Knight Riders (Ahmedabad, 19:30 IST)
26. April 18 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Delhi Capitals (Bengaluru, 15:30 IST)
27. April 18 - Sunrisers Hyderabad v Chennai Super Kings (Hyderabad, 19:30 IST)
28. April 19 - Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals (Kolkata, 15:30 IST)
29. April 19 – Punjab Kings v Lucknow Super Giants (New Chandigarh, 19:30 IST)
30. April 20 – Gujarat Titans v Mumbai Indians (Ahmedabad, 19:30 IST)
31. April 21 – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Delhi Capitals (Hyderabad, 19:30 IST)
32. April 22 – Lucknow Super Giants v Rajasthan Royals (Lucknow, 19:30 IST)
33. April 23 – Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings (Mumbai, 19:30 IST)
34. April 24 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Gujarat Titans (Bengaluru, 19:30 IST)
35. April 25 – Delhi Capitals v Punjab Kings (Delhi, 15:30 IST)
36. April 25 – Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad (Jaipur, 19:30 IST)
37. April 26 – Gujarat Titans v Chennai Super Kings (Ahmedabad, 15:30 IST)
38. April 26 – Lucknow Super Giants v Kolkata Knight Riders (Lucknow, 19:30 IST)
39. April 27 – Delhi Capitals v Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Delhi, 19:30 IST)
40. April 28 – Punjab Kings v Rajasthan Royals (New Chandigarh, 19:30 IST)
41. April 29 – Mumbai Indians v Sunrisers Hyderabad (Mumbai, 19:30 IST)
42. April 30 – Gujarat Titans v Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Ahmedabad, 19:30 IST)
43. May 1 – Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Capitals (Jaipur, 19:30 IST)
44. May 2 – Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians (Chennai, 19:30 IST)
45. May 3 – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders (Hyderabad, 15:30 IST)
46. May 3 – Gujarat Titans v Punjab Kings (Ahmedabad, 19:30 IST)
47. May 4 – Mumbai Indians v Lucknow Super Giants (Mumbai, 19:30 IST)
48. May 5 – Delhi Capitals v Chennai Super Kings (Delhi, 19:30 IST)
49. May 6 – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Punjab Kings (Hyderabad, 19:30 IST)
50. May 7 – Lucknow Super Giants v Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Lucknow, 19:30 IST)
51. May 8 – Delhi Capitals v Kolkata Knight Riders (Delhi, 19:30 IST)
52. May 9 – Rajasthan Royals v Gujarat Titans (Jaipur, 19:30 IST)
53. May 10 – Chennai Super Kings v Lucknow Super Giants (Chennai, 15:30 IST)
54. May 10 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Mumbai Indians (Raipur, 19:30 IST)
55. May 11 – Punjab Kings v Delhi Capitals (Dharamsala, 19:30 IST)
56. May 12 – Gujarat Titans v Sunrisers Hyderabad (Ahmedabad, 19:30 IST)
57. May 13 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Kolkata Knight Riders (Raipur, 19:30 IST)
58. May 14 – Punjab Kings v Mumbai Indians (Dharamsala, 19:30 IST)
59. May 15 – Lucknow Super Giants v Chennai Super Kings (Lucknow, 19:30 IST)
60. May 16 – Kolkata Knight Riders v Gujarat Titans (Kolkata, 19:30 IST)
61. May 17 – Punjab Kings v Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Dharamsala, 15:30 IST)
62. May 17 – Delhi Capitals v Rajasthan Royals (Delhi, 19:30 IST)
63. May 18 – Chennai Super Kings v Sunrisers Hyderabad (Chennai, 19:30 IST)
64. May 19 – Rajasthan Royals v Lucknow Super Giants (Jaipur, 19:30 IST)
65. May 20 – Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians (Kolkata, 19:30 IST)
66. May 21 – Chennai Super Kings v Gujarat Titans (Chennai, 19:30 IST)
67. May 22 – Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Hyderabad, 19:30 IST)
68. May 23 – Lucknow Super Giants v Punjab Kings (Lucknow, 19:30 IST)
69. May 24 – Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals (Mumbai, 15:30 IST)
70. May 24 – Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Capitals (Kolkata, 19:30 IST)
(Compiled by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
