The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced the schedule Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Playoffs, it is confirmed that the final will take place on May 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, widely considered to be the largest cricket stadium in the world. The venue is set to host a high-stakes showdown to crown new champions.
Originally, Bengaluru was to host the final. However, due to certain requirements imposed by the local authorities which were not in line with BCCI protocols, the Board decided to shift the summit to Ahmedabad. Interestingly, the 2025 final was also played at the same venue, making it the fourth time in the last five years that Ahmedabad will host the IPL final.
The defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended their 18-year title drought by defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 2025 final. Following the tragic incident during RCB's victory celebrations last year that claimed several lives, authorities had initially planned to impose strict governance measures at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, with the venue expected to host the qualifiers and the final in 2026.
However, the late change has sparked outrage among fans and pundits, many of whom are disappointed with the repeated hosting of the IPL final in Ahmedabad. Critics argue that changing venues more fairly would better reflect the league's national appeal, while supporters of the move point to Ahmedabad's ability and experience in handling high-profile matches.
Here are some of the reactions on X after Bengaluru lost the right to host the IPL 2026 final:
Not a single knockout game or final in Chinnaswamy.
No relevance for RCB and Chinnaswamy despite winning the trophy last year 😭🤣🤣🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/bQagjY1DPY
– Navneet 🚩 (@MSDian067) 6 May 2026
Are they scared of the RCB fans' celebration? 🥺
Playoff schedule:
Qualifier 1 – 26 May – HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala (PBKS Home Ground)
Eliminator – May 27 – Mullanpur (PBKS Home Ground)
Qualifier 2 – 29 May – Mullanpur (PBKS Home Ground)
Final – 31 May – Narendra Modi Stadium,…
– Youth (@youth_communicator) 6 May 2026
As a Bengaluru resident and RCB fan, I feel cheated. Every time, for every big final, Narendra Modi Stadium seems to be absolutely biased from the BCCI side. In other places it is really inappropriate.
I feel really sad that Chinnaswamy missed hosting the final– Rohit Sutrave (@imsrohit18) 6 May 2026
So RCB doesn't get any playoff 🤡
– Bal Narendra (@wyte_johnny) 6 May 2026
BCCI really needs to stop looking at Ahmedabad as the only stadium in India just because of revenue and political obsession. pic.twitter.com/eiDJFqfcMm
-AdityaVarma (@AdityaVarma45_) 6 May 2026
Then why Ahmedabad because it will favor home team Gujarat 🤷🏽♂️ If you want to host all the matches in Ahmedabad due to capacity then make it a neutral venue and give Gujarat a separate ground for home games, why favoritism 🤷🏽♂️ Bad decisions by BCCI 😤
– Dr. Pradeep Vs (@Pradeep551999) 6 May 2026
This is really best for RCB. They know the conditions because of last year's final. So we are going to lift the trophy again.
– VK_coverdrive (@Unfiltered_c) 6 May 2026
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