RCB won't play their matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in IPL 2026.
After ample speculations, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have reportedly finalised their home venues for IPL 2026. After a stampede last year, the defending champions were unlikely to play at their original home ground, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and no cricket has been played at this venue since the incident.
According to a report by the Times of India (TOI), RCB have decided to play their home games at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur. A source told TOI that they will play five matches in Navi Mumbai and two in Raipur in IPL 2026.
“RCB will play five matches in Navi Mumbai and two in Raipur during IPL 2026. The RCB officials have finalised the arrangement recently after meetings with the concerned officials,” said the source to TOI.
During the RCB’s victory celebration parade last year in June, a stampede broke out, where the security officials couldn’t control the crowd that came in numbers to celebrate the team’s maiden IPL title victory. Since then, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has attempted to persuade the state government to bring cricket back to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, but those efforts have so far proved futile, with the venue’s safety deemed inadequate to manage large crowds.
The DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai has hosted as many as 37 IPL matches, with the latest in 2022. This venue also saw the finals of the 2008 and 2010 seasons, won by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), respectively.
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As many as 20 matches were held at this venue in 2022 when the IPL was still played with a limited crowd and specific venues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DY Patil Stadium has also been hosting the first half of the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026.
RCB have played six games here, out of which they won and lost three each. Meanwhile, the stadium in Raipur has hosted six IPL games, with the newest one in 2016.
Delhi Capitals (then Daredevils) played some of their home games here. RCB have also played a solitary game at this venue in 2016, which they won by six wickets.
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