In a positive news for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise and their fans, they have been given clearance to host matches at the M Chinnaswamy stadium for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). Not just IPL games, international fixtures will once again return to the stadium as well.
Earlier, there were speculations surrounding RCB’s possible home for the IPL 2026 edition, as hosting rights for competitive games were taken away from Chinnaswamy following a stampede fiasco last year where multiple lives were lost.
Nevertheless, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has now got the green signal from the Karnataka government to host games at the venue.
The development was confirmed by KSCA via an official press note which read,
“The permission is subject to compliance with specific terms and conditions prescribed by the Government and the concerned authorities. KSCA is confident of fulfilling all the stipulated conditions. The Association has already presented a detailed compliance roadmap before the Expert Review Committee and remains fully committed to implementing all safety, security, and crowd-management measures in letter and spirit.”
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It is also understood that the defending IPL champions have devised a new plan for crowd management after the disaster last year. RCB has communicated with the KSCA, regarding the installation of 300-350 AI-driven cameras and at the same time has agreed to bear the cost of the same too – estimated at around INR 4.5 cr.
These cameras will help security authorities and law enforcement agencies in monitoring crowd movement efficiently, queueing and entry/exit points while also tracking unauthorised access in real time.
After missing out on hosting the Women’s World Cup 2025 and the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, alongside the domestic Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT 2025-26), the IPL 2026 will be the first big-ticket event that Chinnaswamy will witness since the accident that happened during the celebration of RCB’s maiden IPL win in 2025.
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