The 19th season of the Indian Premier League began on March 28, 2026, and runs through to the final on May 31. 10 franchises play 74 matches across 6 major Indian venues. The IPL remains the richest and most-watched T20 league in world cricket, attracting the top players from every cricket nation and commanding a global television audience of over 500 million viewers.
The 2026 season features two groups of five teams. Group A includes Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Punjab Kings. Group B includes Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants. Matches are played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, and Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
All IPL matches are played in India Standard Time (IST, UTC+5:30). Evening matches start at 19:30 IST, which is 14:00 in London, 15:00 in Central Europe, 09:00 in New York, and 00:00 midnight in Sydney. Afternoon double-header matches start at 15:30 IST, which is 10:00 in London and 05:00 in New York. Check whatisthetime.now/country/india for current Indian time before tuning in. For city-specific times, see whatisthetime.now/mumbai, whatisthetime.now/kolkata, or whatisthetime.now/delhi.
The league phase runs until May 24, with playoffs beginning on May 26. The final is scheduled for May 31. Star players across the tournament include Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians), Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians), Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans), and Travis Head. The IPL’s impact window directly overlaps with the PSL 2026, creating a packed T20 calendar through the spring months.