IPL 2026: RCB's new home venue revealed; RR likely to shift to THIS stadium

RCB will not play their IPL 2026 matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) witnessed their best performance last season, when they captured their maiden title in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Rajat Patidar & Co. crushed the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final to clinch the trophy.

Now, RCB are gearing up to defend their title in IPL 2026, with the tournament scheduled to start in March. However, the franchise has faced trouble ahead of the next season as they won’t be playing their home matches at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

After a deadly stampede at the venue during RCB‘s victory celebrations in June last year, it was stopped from hosting cricket events. In the horrific incident, 11 people lost their lives while over 50 were injured.

As a result, the franchise is looking forward to hosting their home matches at a different venue in IPL 2026. The significant point is that the reports also allege that Virat Kohli and some other star players do not want to play at that venue in IPL 2026 because they are still grappling with the consequences of that incident.

Over the last few months, the franchise has been shortlisting various venues for their home games. Now, a report from The Times of India (TOI) has claimed that the Royal Challengers have finally decided their venues for the upcoming tournament.

Navi Mumbai and Raipur are likely to host RCB’s home matches

According to a TOI report, the defending champions will play their home games in Navi Mumbai and Raipur in IPL 2026. Hence, Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium and the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium will be the two venues for the side in the 2026 edition. Out of their seven home games, RCB are likely to play five matches in Navi Mumbai and two in Raipur.

“RCB will play five matches in Navi Mumbai, and two in Raipur during IPL-2026. The RCB officials have finalised the arrangement recently after meetings with the concerned officials,” a source was quoted as saying by TOI.

Moreover, the report also states that Rajasthan Royals (RR) will play their IPL 2026 matches at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Gahunje, Pune.

Recently, in an official statement, the MCA stated that RCB and RR had visited their stadiums with the intention of hosting their home games there in IPL 2026.

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