IPL 2026 is Illegal? Fraud Charge against BCCI as Case Filed, Kerala High Court Takes Quick Step!

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently faced a rather unusual legal challenge regarding its highly popular T20 tournament.

With just days to go before the start of the IPL 2026, a public case was filed in Kerala, who accused BCCI of fraud.

What was the Case against BCCI?

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Kerala High Court by a social worker named Ashique Karoth from Ernakulam. The petitioner argued that the BCCI using the name "Indian Premier League" (IPL), was strictly illegal because it is not an official, state-run cricket tournament of the government.

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Kerala High Court Dismisses Case

However, the court was completely unconvinced by the claim. A bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M quickly dismissed the plea.

The judges noted, "We find no merit in the substance of the said argument, and hence, we do not feel that it would be proper to keep this writ petition as a public interest litigation (PIL)".

The court also pointed out the absurdity of the situation, observing that the petitioner seemingly only just realized the IPL was not an official national tournament, despite the mega-league running successfully for over a decade and a half.

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IPL 2026 starts from March 28

Meanwhile, the 19th edition of the world's biggest T20 league begins on March 28 with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru set to face Sunrisers Hyderabad in their first match as the tournament opener, as per the initial truncated schedule released by BCCI.

Mumbai Indians take on Kolkata Knight Riders on the second day of the mega-event on March 29. The partial schedule for the first 20 matches of the IPL has been released as the announcement of full schedule has been delayed due to the upcoming state assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

As the dates of the State elections have been declared, the full schedule of the tournament is expected to be released soon. The 2026 season is expected to be the largest yet, featuring 84 matches, including 80 matches and 4 playoffs with a double round-robin format.