The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that it will release the first phase of the IPL 2026 schedule on March 11 (Wednesday) at 7 PM. Earlier, Cricbuzz reported that the tournament will begin on March 28 and finish on May 31.
Talking to Cricbuzz, Devajit Saikia, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), confirmed this update. He said, “We are hoping to release the IPL schedule in a day or two.”
“It will be a staggered two-phase schedule, and we will release the first phase, covering the first 20 days. The second phase of the schedule will be announced after the dates of the Assembly elections are declared by the Election Commission of India.”
So, according to him, only the first phase of the schedule will be released on March 11 due to the Assembly elections.
Several Indian states, Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal, and Kerala will have elections this year. The timeline of the IPL will be influenced by the election dates in these states. BCCI will have to wait and watch for the election schedule to alter their plans.
It was reported earlier that the IPL Governing Council has declared the plan to release the IPL schedule in two phases.
Devajit Saikia further stated that, “We are waiting for confirmations from a few centres and once they come, we will announce the dates for the first phase.”
He also confirmed a new venue for this IPL, Raipur. Besides regular IPL centres, a few matches will be played in Raipur as well.
The ongoing war in the Middle East has also been a cause for concern. Due to this, there is a possibility of a fuel shortage across the world.
But Saikia was not concerned by this factor at all. For him, the only important factor is the upcoming Assembly elections in India. And once the dates for the same are announced, they will release the full schedule. He also stressed the fact that BCCI is not looking to stretch the schedule beyond May 31.
