IPL 2026 captains meet & photoshoot to take place on THESE dates - Reports
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The IPL 2026 season opener is expected to be played between RCB and CSK on March 28.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season is all set to start from May 28. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will enter the season as the defending champions after winning the title last season.
As per reports in Cricbuzz, they are likely to play the IPL 2026 season opener against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 28 in Bengaluru. Punjab Kings (PBKS) the runners-up from last season, will be playing their first game against Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 29 in New Chandigarh.
In another major development ahead of the start of the season, the BCCI has confirmed the date for the captain’s meet and customary photoshoot. The board will held meeting with coaches and captains, although the agenda of the meeting is yet to be finalised.
In this meeting, the captains will be posing and taking pictures with each other and the IPL title, as is the norm. Pat Cummins, the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), is the only non-Indian captain as of now in the league.
IPL captain’s photoshoot set to take place on March 15, meeting with captains and coaches on March 25
As per the reports in Cricbuzz, the captains shoot will be held in New Delhi on March 15, while BCCI’s meeting with captains and coaches, which will be held in Mumbai on March 25.
Although the agenda for the March 25 meeting is yet to be revealed, there are a few changes expected in the upcoming season and the meeting will be based on the same lines. Meanwhile, teams have already started practising for the upcoming season.
A few things already grabbed the headlines even before the start of the new season. Sanju Samson was traded to Chennai Super Kings, with Ravindra Jadeja returning to Rajasthan Royals. Australian all-rounder Cameron Green became the most expensive player of the IPL 2026 mini-auction with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) roping him in for 25.20 crores.
Incidentally, KKR have to deal with a few heavy blows before the start of the season. They had to part ways with Mustafizur Rahman after government intervention due to the political tensions between India and Bangladesh. They are also mulling over the fitness of Matheesha Pathirana and Harshit Rana.
When will IPL 2026 begin?
The IPL 2026 will begin on March 28.
Which two teams will be playing the IPL 2026 season opener?
The IPL 2026 season opener will be played between RCB and CSK at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28.
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Anshuman Roy is a senior cricket journalist with nearly a decade of experience covering the game. His love for cricket began in childhood, playing at school and college level before turning that passion into a profession. Over the years, he has written for several reputed media houses and specialises in news, features, previews, reviews, match reports, and opinion pieces.