Chandigarh, May 6: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a revised schedule for the IPL 2026 playoffs on Wednesday, confirming that the championship final has been moved to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The season finale, originally slated for Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, was reassigned due to local administrative requirements that conflicted with established BCCI protocols.
Under the new arrangements, the postseason will kick off at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, which is set to host Qualifier 1 on May 26. This opening fixture will determine the first team to secure a spot in the final. Following this, the postseason action shifts to the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International PCA Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, for two critical matches.
“The New Chandigarh venue will host the Eliminator on May 27, followed by Qualifier 2 on May 29,” a BCCI official stated regarding the logistical update. These matches will decide which team advances from the third and fourth spots to face the loser of the first qualifier for the remaining final berth. The board noted that the decision to spread the playoffs across three distinct locations was made as a special case to address specific operational and logistical considerations.
The tournament will reach its conclusion on May 31 in Ahmedabad, where the two finalists will compete for the trophy. This announcement follows the completion of a 70-match league stage, marking the transition into the sudden-death phase of the competition. Authorities affirmed that the shift from Bengaluru was necessary after certain local association demands moved beyond the scope of the board’s standard guidelines.
