2026 Indian Premier League
The 2026 Indian Premier League, also known as IPL 19 and branded as TATA IPL 2026, will be the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league. The tournament will feature 10 teams competing in 84 matches. It will be held from 26 March to 31 May 2026.
Background
The Indian Premier League is a professional Twenty20 cricket league held in India, organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. It is held annually since the first edition in 2008. Royal Challengers Bengaluru were the defending champions, having won their maiden title in the previous season after defeating Punjab Kings in the final.Format
The IPL Governing Council announced that the IPL would expand to 84 matches from 2026 onwards and is expected to expand to 94 matches from 2028 onwards with the return of the complete double round-robin format that was used until 2021.Schedule
According to ESPNcricinfo, the dates of the tournament window for the three seasons between 2025 and 2027 were sent to franchises ahead of the 2025 auction. In November 2024, the tentative dates for the three seasons were announced, with the 2026 edition set to take place from 15 March to 31 May. In December 2025, it was announced that the 2026 season would commence on 26 March to allow for a three-week gap after the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup final scheduled to take place on 8 March. This led to a clash with the 2026 Pakistan Super League for the second consecutive year taking place from 26 March to 3 May 2026, which was again moved from its typical February–March window for the same reason.Exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman
Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for in the auction. Following anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh during 2025 and the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in December 2025, there were calls for the exclusion of Bangladeshi players from the IPL. In January 2026, the BCCI requested that the franchise release Rahman from the squad and permitted them to select a replacement player. This move was criticized by former Indian cricketer Madan Lal, Congress politician Shashi Tharoor, and former Bangladeshi captains Khaled Mahmud and Mohammad Ashraful while former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra and BJP politician Sangeet Singh Som defended the BCCI's move.This led the BCCI to put the Indian tour of Bangladesh on hold due to tensions. Furthermore, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has requested the International Cricket Council to shift their matches at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup which is to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka out of India, similar to that of Pakistan's. The Bangladeshi government also banned the broadcast of IPL in their country.
Marketing
The Tata Group renewed their contract as the title sponsors of the IPL for a tenure of 5 years for.Broadcasting
JioStar's Star Sports and JioHotstar, currently holds the satellite and digital broadcasting rights for the remainder of the 2023–2027 cycle respectively.Teams
The same 10 teams from the previous season returned.Personnel changes
The franchises were required to submit their retention lists before 15 November 2025, and a total of 173 players were retained ahead of the auction. The auction was held on 16 December 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. with the auction purse for each franchise set at. A total of 1,355 players registered for the auction, of which 369 players were shortlisted to feature in the auction and 77 were sold in the auction. Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas player and the third most expensive player in the history of IPL when he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for. Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma became the joint-most expensive uncapped players in the history of IPL when they were both bought by Chennai Super Kings for each. Meanwhile the 79 unsold players notably included Jake Fraser-McGurk, Jonny Bairstow, Daryl Mitchell, Devon Conway, Alzarri Joseph, Gus Atkinson, Deepak Hooda and Karn Sharma.League stage
Points table
Playoffs
Bracket
- Source: ESPNcricinfo