The venue for the IPL 2026 final has been shifted from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad.
The BCCI in a media release on Wednesday said “owing to certain requirements from the local association and authorities that were beyond the scope of BCCI’s established guidelines and protocols, the venue has been shifted.”
Without naming anyone, the BCCI has hinted at political issues in Karnataka
where the MLAs had demanded five free tickets for every IPL match.
The decision to host the May 31 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad means Bengaluru will miss out on the long-standing tradition of defending champions receiving hosting rights for the title clash. RCB beat Punjab Kings for the 2025 IPL title.
Ahmedabad will thus host the IPL final for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The BCCI also confirmed that Qualifier 1 will be played in Dharamsala, while Mullanpur will host both the Eliminator and Qualifier 2.
The ticket controversy in Bengaluru snowballed into a big issue with Karnataka State Cricket Association reaching a compromise with the government whereby MLAs, MLCs and MPs were being allotted three complimentary tickets each for matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Karnataka home minister G. Parameshwara had later clarified that the tickets would remain non-transferable and could only be used by family members.
The change in venue irked the KSCA which stressed that the BCCI communication was “purely factual, operational, and clarificatory in nature,” aimed at providing “transparency and clarity regarding logistical and stakeholder-related requirements associated with hosting such high-profile matches.”
It also noted that the operational framework in Bengaluru has been “consistently followed since the inception of the IPL in 2008” and had been implemented uniformly this season, including during previous playoff fixtures hosted at the venue.
“Despite our preparedness and willingness to host the Playoffs, we understand that the BCCI has taken a decision to allot these matches to other venues. While the specific reasons for the same have not been formally communicated to KSCA, we fully respect
the prerogative and decision-making authority of the BCCI in this regard,” the statement said.
This year’s set-up theoretically gives a bigger advantage to the winner of Qualifier 1 in terms of logistics. Qualifier 2 is usually played at the same venue as the final, whereas this year the winner of Qualifier 2 will have to travel to a new venue a day ahead of the final.
