Mumbai, Dec 15 (NationPress) According to reports, the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is scheduled to take place from March 26 to May 31, as communicated to the franchises by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

This announcement was made by Hemang Amin, the league's Chief Development Officer, during a session ahead of the auction set for Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, as reported by Cricbuzz.

The 19th season of India's premier domestic T20 tournament will kick off on March 26, with the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) starting their campaign. However, the status of their home matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium remains uncertain due to the tragic stampede that occurred during RCB's celebration of their inaugural IPL title.

As per the report, while the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has obtained a conditional approval from the state government to host IPL matches at the venue, this is contingent upon fulfilling specific safety and security conditions.

On Monday evening, the BCCI finalized the player pool, adding 19 new players just before the auction for IPL 2026 in Abu Dhabi.

Among the late additions are Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ben Sears from New Zealand, and Ethan Bosch from South Africa.

Attention will be focused on stars like Cameron Green, Liam Livingstone, and Ravi Bishnoi as the ten franchises prepare for the IPL 2026 auction at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. This will mark the third consecutive IPL auction taking place outside of India, following Dubai in 2024 and Jeddah in 2025.

All ten teams are anticipated to invest heavily in pursuit of top talent to build a squad capable of clinching the IPL 2026 trophy. There are 77 slots available, including 31 for international players. The three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hold the most open positions with 13, followed closely by the 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) with 10.

Out of a longlist of 1,355 players, 359 have been shortlisted – 244 Indian and 115 international. Forty players have registered at the highest base price of Rs 2 crore, with only Bishnoi and Venkatesh Iyer being Indian players in that group.

Cameron Green, the Australian seam-bowling all-rounder, is projected to be the biggest attraction, with bids likely exceeding Rs 25 crore in this mini IPL auction.

In addition to Bishnoi and Green, the England duo Liam Livingstone and Jamie Smith, along with New Zealand pacer Matt Henry, wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert, and South African batsman David Miller, are expected to draw significant interest from all ten franchises. Also, Matheesha Pathirana, the Sri Lankan pacer released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK), is likely to attract attention.