The 2026 season of the Indian Premier League will begin on March 28, broadcaster Star Sports confirmed on Sunday. Ahead of the tournament's start, fake schedules of the tournament have started popping up on social media. Despite confirmation of the start date, the complete match schedule for the 2026 campaign has not yet been released.
A fake schedule posted on X shows the opening fixture will be played between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
???? BREAKING
— Stubbsy (@spideypant_) March 8, 2026
IPL 2026 Schedule ???? #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/Qi1dUmpfzR
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Several users have sought clarification about the schedules on X.
"@grok Can you verify if this IPL 2026 schedule is real or just fan-made? I can't see any announcement from the official IPL sources yet," one user asked xAI's chatbot Grok.
@grok can you verify if this IPL 2026 schedule is real or just fan-made? I can't see any announcement from the official IPL sources yet. ????
— Teja.Ai (@TejaTechyt) March 8, 2026
Another user posted, "This time IPL is starting from 28th March, this schedule of yours is probably wrong."
Brother,
— ???????????? ???????????????????? (@RCB_4Bihar) March 8, 2026
this time IPL is starting from 28th March, this schedule of yours is probably wrong,
please
check it once.
"No, as per Star sports they already put, IPL starts from Mar 28," wrote yet another user.
No , as per Star sports they already put , IPL starts from Mar 28
— ராஜேஷ் KC (@itisrajeshkc) March 8, 2026
The announcement of IPL 2026's opening date was made shortly before the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 between India and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru are set to defend their title after beating Punjab Kings by six runs in the 2025 final.
Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary, Santosh Menon, had said earlier this month that M. Chinnaswamy Stadium would serve as the venue for five of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's home matches in the Indian Premier League 2026 campaign. The ground has also been designated to host the final and one of the play-off fixtures of the tournament.
RCB's two other home games will be held at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Matches at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium have not been held since June 2025 after a stampede broke out during celebrations for RCB's IPL triumph, resulting in the death of 11 people and injuries to many others.
ALSO READ: IPL 2026 Start Date Announced: Will Royal Challengers Bengaluru Play At M Chinnaswamy Stadium?
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