RCB’s home ground in doubt for IPL 2026 as BCCI sets firm deadline on venue

Bengaluru’s presence in IPL 2026 hangs in the balance after the BCCI asks Royal Challengers Bengaluru to finalise their home venue within a stipulated timeline.

RCB (Image | IPL)

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have been given a deadline by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to reveal their venue for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. While RCB are interested in making M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru as their home ground, the Karnataka government has put forth some strict rules ahead of the tournament.

For the upcoming tournament, the government asked RCB take "responsibility not only for stadium-related arrangements but also for the road outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium, along with additional compliance measures". This isn't something that the franchise would want to do as it involves a lot of responsibility.

Meanwhile, BCCI has asked them to give the name of the venue by January 27. As per reports, RCB are planning to hold meetings with Karnataka government, and the KSCA to sort the matter and see if they can play the matches in Bengaluru. While the fans are anticipating RCB's return to their den, it will be interesting to see how the government reacts.

Onus is now on RCB: Venkatesh Prasad

KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad opened about RCB and the confusion regarding the home ground. He mentioned that the authorities are working together to get the clearance for the matches. However, everything now depends on RCB to get the matter sorted within the given deadline.

"We are working to get an unconditional clearance from the Karnataka govt to host IPL and international matches at Chinnaswamy by end of February so that we hand it to BCCI then," he said.

"Onus is now on RCB to hold talks with Karnataka govt and take this forward, it's their responsibility to come back to Bengaluru and play and not take the game away from Bengaluru." he added.

Where to watch IPL 2026 matches?

Cricket fans in India can watch the IPL 2026 matches from March 26 online on JioHotstar, via OTTplay Premium.

Also read: Former India bowler blames Test series loss against SA on Kohli-Rohit transition, makes eye-opening claim

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