Why was IPL 2026 Final Relocated to Ahmedabad from Bengaluru? BCCI secretary Reveals Shocking Reason

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the venues for the IPL 2026 playoffs and final, opting for three neutral venues after a last-minute decision to strip Bengaluru of hosting rights.

The move comes despite Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) being the defending champions. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the schedule on Wednesday.

Qualifier 1 (top two teams) will be held on May 26 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. The Eliminator (third vs fourth) is slated for May 27 at the New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, which will also stage Qualifier 2 on May 29. The grand finale is fixed for May 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Saikia explained the venue choices while addressing the controversy surrounding Bengaluru. "Yesterday, the BCCI and the IPL announced the venues for the playoff matches," he said.

"We have the Qualifiers and Playoffs, as well as the Final match. Therefore, we have selected three venues."

Under IPL norms, the defending champions' home association gets preference for the final and one knockout. RCB's Chinnaswamy Stadium was initially in line, but the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) demanded far more complimentary tickets than permitted. The BCCI protocol allows host associations only 15% of total seating capacity as free tickets.

Saikia revealed that the KSCA had sought an additional 10,000 tickets beyond the quota-for members, affiliated clubs, local MLAs, Members of the Legislative Council, and 700 for the Karnataka government.

"We were shocked when we received a response via email from the Karnataka State Cricket Association on May 2nd. They stated that, over and above the 15% complimentary ticket quota, they would require an additional, substantial allocation of tickets. And also to the government of Karnataka, 700 complimentary tickets," he added.

The BCCI, as the official host for playoffs and final, refused to breach its rules.

"We cannot violate our protocols. Consequently, we were compelled to make the difficult decision to relocate the matches from Karnataka," he concluded.