IPL 2026 Set to Return to Chinnaswamy as Karnataka Govt Grants Clearance

The Karnataka government has given the green light for the upcoming matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, allowing the iconic venue in Bengaluru to host games in the 2026 season.

The decision was taken on Monday, March 16, after an expert committee submitted a report on safety and preparedness during a meeting chaired by Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara at Vidhana Soudha.

Chinnaswamy Stadium will host the home matches of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who are scheduled to play five league fixtures at the venue. The stadium will also stage the opening match of the season, with defending champions RCB set to take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28.

The game will mark the first match at the stadium since a tragic stampede during RCB’s IPL title celebrations in 2025 that left 11 people dead.

RCB will also use the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur as their second home venue, where the franchise is scheduled to play two league matches. In addition, Bengaluru is set to host one playoff fixture and the IPL final later in the tournament.

Why Chinnaswamy Was Not Hosting Matches

Cricket activities at Chinnaswamy were suspended after the stampede that occurred during RCB’s IPL victory celebrations last year. The stadium also missed hosting the final of the Ranji Trophy earlier this year between the Karnataka cricket team and the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team, which was moved to Hubballi while safety upgrades were carried out at the venue.

New Safety Measures

Following recommendations made in the Justice Cunha report, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) introduced several steps to improve crowd management and spectator safety.

According to KSCA secretary Santosh Menon, the association had already informed the expert committee about the progress of these upgrades aimed at ensuring smoother match-day operations.

The measures include:

A 35,000 spectator capacity cap to better regulate crowd movement inside the stadium

Opening stadium gates three to four hours before matches to avoid last-minute congestion

Separate entry queues for women and children to streamline access

Free metro travel for ticket holders in collaboration with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited to ease traffic around the venue

Enhanced coordination between departments for security, crowd control and emergency response

KSCA thanked Home Minister G. Parameshwara for facilitating the approval and acknowledged the role of expert committee chairman G. M. Maheshwar Rao and member secretary Sreemant Kumar Singh in reviewing the stadium’s safety and infrastructure readiness.

The association also expressed gratitude to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar for granting in-principle approval at the state cabinet level. The KSCA team, led by former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, coordinated with multiple agencies to implement the safety and operational upgrades.