IPL 2026: RCB's home venues confirmed; defending champions to play 7 matches across two stadiums

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play their home matches in two cities in IPL 2026.

After a 17-year drought, RCB won their maiden IPL trophy under the leadership of Rajat Patidar last season. The campaign had multiple match-winners who put their hands up when needed. In the final against the Punjab Kings, Jitesh Sharma delivered with the bat, and Josh Hazelwood closed it out with the ball.

However, a tragedy unfolded shortly after their triumph. The celebrations turned into a disaster at RCB’s home venue. M.Chinnaswamy Stadium saw poor management and organisation during RCB’s victory parade, leading to the deaths of several fans due to a stampede.

As a result, no T20 World Cup 2026 matches were held at the ground, and there were talks that the IPL 2026 matches would also be moved elsewhere.

Where will Royal Challengers Bengaluru play their home matches?

However, now there is some good news for Bengaluru’s local fans; the Karnataka government has permitted the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to host RCB’s home matches.

Out of RCB’s seven home matches, five matches will be played in Bengaluru, while the remaining two matches will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium in Raipur.

“This comes after months of hard work and close coordination across all concerned authorities with a common goal of bringing the games back to home ground for the fans,” the RCB said in a release on March 3.

The RCB CEO Rajesh Menon noted, “The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is more than just our home ground; it is where our identity as a team truly comes alive. The energy our fans bring to Bengaluru has always been a driving force for our players, inspiring them through every phase of the game. Our fans have stood by us unconditionally, and they deserve the opportunity to watch their team compete at home.”

“After detailed discussions and completing the necessary due process around permissions, we are pleased to confirm that RCB will play five matches in Bengaluru. We sincerely thank the Government of Karnataka, the KSCA, and the Karnataka Police for their support in making this possible,” RCB CEO said in gratitude.

Ahead of the upcoming season, the authorities have adopted several new measures, including installing 300-350 AI-enabled cameras in the stadium to monitor spectators in real-time.

Tech firms have been roped in to monitor entries and exits. This has been done under the new Royal Challengers Bengaluru Cares initiative.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.