The 19th IPL season will start without its traditional opening ceremony. The BCCI has cancelled the event at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium to honour the victims of June 2025’s tragic stampede. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that the closing ceremony will still take place as scheduled.
The 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will kick off with the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, March 28. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released the schedule for the first phase of the tournament, consisting of 20 matches, earlier this month.
All 10 teams will play four matches each in the first phase of the IPL 2026, and the remaining fixtures will be announced soon, as the BCCI was awaiting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to finalise the dates for the State Assembly Elections before announcing the rest of the schedule.
The tournament is likely to feature 84 matches in a double round robin format, with each team playing a total of 16 league matches before the playoffs. The playoffs will begin on May 26, with Qualifier 1 before Eliminator, Qualifier 2, and Final, which is scheduled for May 31.
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No Opening Ceremony in Bengaluru
Before the beginning of every IPL season, an opening ceremony is usually held featuring star-studded performances, music, and festivities to mark the start of the tournament. However, for IPL 2026, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will not witness the grand opening ceremony before the season opener between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The move was made by the BCCI to honour the victims of the stampede tragedy outside Bengaluru’s iconic cricket stadium. In June last year, 11 people lost their lives, and 50 others were injured in a tragic stampede outside the stadium during a large number of fans gathering to celebrate the RCB’s historic maiden IPL triumph.
Recently, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) decided to honour the victims of the stampede tragedy by leaving 11 seats empty in the stadium during every home match. Additionally, the memorial plaque was unveiled outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium will host the season opener for the first time since the debut match of the IPL between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders, and will see fans return to witness top-tier cricket while the stadium also stands as a solemn reminder of last year’s tragic stampede.
Devajit Saikia Confirms Cancellation of IPL 2026 Opening Ceremony
The cancellation of the opening ceremony for the IPL 2026 has been confirmed by the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia. According to the report by The Times of India (TOI), Saikia stated that the board will not hold any formal function or cultural program at the start of the season in Bengaluru as a mark of respect to the victims of last year’s stampede tragedy.
However, the BCCI secretary added that the closing ceremony of the season will take place as usual before the final match.
“Due to last year's tragic incident on June 4 last year, there will be no formal function on the day of the start of IPL-2026 (in Bengaluru). The BCCI is not organising any cultural or entertainment show at the start of IPL-19 as a mark of respect to the departed souls due to that tragedy on June 4, 2025," Devajit Saikia said.
“However, the BCCI and the IPL Governing Council are planning a grand entertainment function at the closing of the IPL, on the day of the final (May 31)," he added.
This is not the first time the opening match of the IPL season will take place without a traditional opening ceremony. In 2019, the BCCI decided to cancel the opening ceremony to honour the families of the CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama terror attack and the funds for the event were donated to the families of the fallen heroes. reflecting the board’s commitment to pay tribute through meaningful action rather than festivities.
Between 2020 and 2022, there were no IPL opening ceremonies due to COVID-19 protocols, with the team focusing on bio-bubbles and safety measures to ensure the tournament could proceed amid the pandemic.
