Published: Mar 11, 2026, 11:52 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 11, 2026, 11:52 AM (IST)
The IPL 2026 season will not start with last year’s finalists Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) facing each other. Instead, RCB are highly likely to take on five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the tournament opener on March 28. As per a report by Cricbuzz.
RCB, who ended their long title drought last season, have a massive fan following. CSK, despite finishing at the bottom of the points table last year with 10 losses in 14 games, remain one of the biggest teams in the league.
Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings are expected to begin their campaign at home against Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans on March 29. Gujarat Titans were knocked out in the eliminator by Mumbai Indians last season.
CSK, RCB, Mumbai Indians, and Kolkata Knight Riders are seen as the four biggest marquee teams in the IPL.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed all franchises that the annual captains’ and coaches’ meeting will take place on March 25. A captains’ photoshoot is scheduled for March 15 in New Delhi.
The full IPL 2026 schedule is yet to be announced. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the schedule will be released in stages because of assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
“We will announce the first 20-day schedule of IPL in 2 or 3 days after considering the election dates in a few states and will announce the rest of the tournament schedule later,” Saikia was quoted as saying by ANI.
The IPL 2026 season is expected to bring big excitement with strong teams, new matchups, and plenty of action from March 28 onwards. Fans are eagerly waiting for the official schedule announcement.
Let’s check out the RCB and CSK squad for the IPL 2026:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Salam, Abhinandan Singh, Suyash Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Satvik Deswal, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan
Chennai Super Kings: Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmad, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Sanju Samson (T), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Jake Foulkes
