The IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the mega event, Punjab Kings (PBKS) performed puja at the New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting, spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule, and wicket-keeper Brad Haddin were among the people who were present. Earlier in the day, Australian star players Marcus Stoinis and Cooper Connolly officially joined the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) squad in Mohali. According to the release, the players were seen in high spirits when they were welcomed at the New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. Their arrival has added a massive boost to the Punjab Kings' lineup. Ahead of the season, former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Shashank Singh. "The way Shashank has been batting over the past period, and especially his performance last year, he played a crucial role and contributed significantly to Punjab's success. Of course, we talk about the players scoring 500-600 runs, like Prabhsimran, Shreyas Iyer, or Priyansh Arya," he said. "But the runs Shashank scored, around 350, were just as crucial because he came in different situations and positions where confidence was key. Many times, you may fail while attempting big shots, but Shashank's confidence drives him forward. If he performs similarly this season, we could see him play big cricket in the future," added Pathan. In the previous edition of the cash-rich league, PBKS ended up as the runners-up. They will now gear up to clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31. IPL 2026, Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans: Full Squads Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shashank Singh, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shreyas Iyer, Ben Dwarshuis, Vishnu Vinod (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Harpreet Brar, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Cooper Conolly, Mitchell Owen, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Vishal Nishad. Gujarat Titans: Ishant Sharma, Jos Buttler (WK), Jason Holder, Jayant Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Tewatia, Luke Wood, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Shubman Gill (C), Tom Banton (WK), Yarra Raj, Anuj Rawat, Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Arshad Khan, Nishant Sandhu, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma. (With ANI Inputs)
25 March,2026 09:40 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released. Ahead of the league, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have announced Navdeep Saini as the replacement player for injured Harshit Rana. Earlier, Harshit sustained a knee strain during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match against South Africa. He then underwent knee surgery and is going through rehabilitation, with no confirmation on his return. The franchise has also signed Saurabh Dubey as Akash Deep's replacement. Deep is set to miss the marquee tournament due to a lumbar stress injury and will go through rehabilitation at the Board of Control for Cricket in India's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The Kolkata-based franchise also announced that they will retire the no. 12 jersey in in honour of their former star all-rounder Andre Russell. The star all-rounder has been a part of the team since 2014. The opening match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Earlier, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Secretary, Santosh Menon, confirmed that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will host five of the RCB's IPL 2026 home games. The venue will also host one of the play-off matches and the title clash of the tournament. KKR will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians: Full Squads Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (WK), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Akash Deep, Prashant Solanki, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Rana, Tejasvi Singh (WK), Daksh Kamra. Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Trent Boult, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (WK), Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Will Jacks, Mayank Rawat, Mayank Markande, Sherfane Rutherford, Raghu Sharma, Atharva Ankolekar, Tilak Varma, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Danish Malewar, Robin Minz (WK), Allah Ghazanfar, Naman Dhir, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar. (With ANI Inputs)
25 March,2026 09:24 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the league, former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan heaped praise on Punjab Kings' (PBKS) Shashank Singh by saying he played a crucial role for the franchise in the previous season. "The way Shashank has been batting over the past period, and especially his performance last year, he played a crucial role and contributed significantly to Punjab's success. Of course, we talk about the players scoring 500-600 runs, like Prabhsimran, Shreyas Iyer, or Priyansh Arya," he said. The former cricketer then said that Shashank's confidence drives him forward and also stated that if the 34-year-old continues to deliver similar performances in the upcoming edition, he could then play big cricket. "But the runs Shashank scored, around 350, were just as crucial because he came in different situations and positions where confidence was key. Many times, you may fail while attempting big shots, but Shashank's confidence drives him forward. If he performs similarly this season, we could see him play big cricket in the future," said Pathan. PBKS will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. IPL 2026, Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans: Full Squads Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shashank Singh, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shreyas Iyer, Ben Dwarshuis, Vishnu Vinod (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Harpreet Brar, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Cooper Conolly, Mitchell Owen, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Vishal Nishad. Gujarat Titans: Ishant Sharma, Jos Buttler (WK), Jason Holder, Jayant Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Tewatia, Luke Wood, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Shubman Gill (C), Tom Banton (WK), Yarra Raj, Anuj Rawat, Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Arshad Khan, Nishant Sandhu, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma. (With ANI Inputs)
25 March,2026 07:58 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the marquee tournament, the owner of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Sanjiv Goenka, stated that his team needs to win the title to receive respect. "I think the true identity is still evolving. For any sports team, until you win, you don't receive the same level of respect or affection that comes with lifting the trophy. Yes, we've made the playoffs twice, but that's clearly not good enough. You win some, you lose some, but we have to win our first trophy," he said on JioStar. He then highlighted the positives from the previous edition, in which the team won four out of their first six matches. He said that Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh opened the innings, which was not their usual position. "The positive was that we won four of our first six games despite most of our frontline bowlers being injured. There were some bold moves, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh opening, which isn't their usual position, and it turned out to be their best IPL season for both of them. Digvesh Rathi came in as a complete newcomer and did well for us. However, we did realise that we lacked a strong bowling core, and we've consciously addressed that by building a domestic Indian bowling unit this time. We're happy with what we have," said Goenka. The owner then said that LSG's IPL 2026 squad has everything that is required and wants his team to perform as a unit and not individually. "You can always improve, aspire to do better, there's no end to improving. But at the end of the day, this is a squad that has everything required. Now it's about coming together and performing as a unit, rather than as individuals. Last year, there were too many individuals performing. This year, we want to perform as a team," he said. IPL 2026, Lucknow Super Giants: First match's date and venue LSG will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 1 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. (With ANI Inputs)
25 March,2026 06:58 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the marquee tournament, former Team India cricketer Aakash Chopra said that Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant sees the game differently from most of the people. "We sometimes fail to understand what Rishabh Pant brings to the table and how he sees the game unfold. In Test cricket, he had conversations with Rahul Dravid when he was the Head Coach. Rahul bhai was not very happy with Pant's batting approach. To give credit where it's due, Pant sees the game very differently from most of us who see it conventionally," he said. The former cricketer then said that it is heartening for him that the left-handed batsman has accepted that he needs to change something in his game. He also said that Pant's approach to legendary Team India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh shows his need for guidance and assistance. "But the most heartening thing for me is his acceptance that he needs to change something in his game. He needs to look for a blueprint. Something is not going right. He knows he is that good. The fact that he has approached Yuvraj Singh for help shows he acknowledges that he needs guidance, help and assistance. That is a great sign. With the quality, talent and skills he has, it is a travesty that he is not killing it in white-ball cricket," said Chopra. LSG will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 1 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. IPL 2026, Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals: Full Squads Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anrich Nortje, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Aiden Markram, Avesh Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Himmar Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Josh Inglis (WK), M Siddharth, Moshin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Arjun Tendulkar, Akash Singh, Abdul Samad, Arshin Kulkarni, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Mayank Yadav, M Choudhary (WK), Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi. Delhi Capitals: David Miller, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, KL Rahul (WK), Karun Nair, Axar Patel (C), Ben Duckett (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Pathum Nissanka, Ajay Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel (WK), Vipraj Nigam, Tripurana Vijay, Sahil Parakh, Madhav Tiwari. (With ANI Inputs)
25 March,2026 06:01 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the league, Australian star players Marcus Stoinis and Cooper Connolly have officially joined the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) squad in Mohali. The duo arrived on Wednesday to link up with the squad as the tournament is just a few days shy from its commencement. According to the release, the players were seen in high spirits when they were welcomed at the New International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. Their arrival has added a massive boost to the Punjab Kings' lineup. In the previous edition of the cash-rich league, PBKS ended up as the runners-up. They will now gear up to clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31. Additionally, former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan has urged star pacer Arshdeep Singh to focus on his statistics with the new ball for the upcoming season. "Arshdeep, who was your highest wicket-taker, has been consistently taking wickets. One thing he will definitely need to focus on is how he bowls with the new ball. Because over the past year, or slightly less than a year, from what I have observed, he hasn't been bowling much inswing with the new ball. His statistics, compared to before and after the Asia Cup, have slightly declined in terms of new-ball bowling. He will need to pay attention to that, and also keep an eye on his economy rate," he said. IPL 2026, Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans: Full Squads Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shashank Singh, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shreyas Iyer, Ben Dwarshuis, Vishnu Vinod (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Harpreet Brar, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Cooper Conolly, Mitchell Owen, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Vishal Nishad. Gujarat Titans: Ishant Sharma, Jos Buttler (WK), Jason Holder, Jayant Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Tewatia, Luke Wood, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Shubman Gill (C), Tom Banton (WK), Yarra Raj, Anuj Rawat, Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Arshad Khan, Nishant Sandhu, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma. (With ANI Inputs)
25 March,2026 05:20 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the league, Ishan Kishan has been appointed as captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the absence of Pat Cummins. The pacer is yet to regain full fitness, following which he will miss out on a few matches. Speaking about his captaincy appointment, the left-handed batsman said expressed happiness for the opportunity and said that he will be focusing on keeping things simple for the players. "I am very overwhelmed, and I am very happy that I got this opportunity to lead this team. And, to be very honest, I am going to just keep it simple, not to do so much because when players come for IPL, I think they are all very good players. You just need to make sure that they are on the right track. And their mindset does not change after a few innings, going here and there. And the rest is, you know, it is going to be a good season, I guess, and we will just do it together," he said. He also emphasized the importance of being in a good headspace and said that the players will look to enjoy the game and take one match at a time. "I think there is lots and lots and lots of learning in this season because I will tell you, in the last few years, I have understood one thing, the most important thing for a cricketer is to be in a very good headspace throughout the season," said Ishan Kishan. "So, mostly this season, we will make sure we just stay in the present, we just keep it simple and do as much hard work as we can before the match starts. But in the match, we are just going to enjoy the game and take one match at a time," he added. The first match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and SRH at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Full Squads Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan (WK), Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Zeeshan Ansari, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards, Harsh Dubey, Salil Arora (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Smaran Ravichandran, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma, Shivang Kumar, Krains Bhaveshbhai Fuletra, Omkar Tarmale. (With ANI Inputs)
25 March,2026 04:39 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections. Ahead of the league, former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan feels that Punjab Kings' (PBKS) pacer Arshdeep Singh needs to pay attention to his statistics with the ball and also keep an eye on his economy rate. "Arshdeep, who was your highest wicket-taker, has been consistently taking wickets. One thing he will definitely need to focus on is how he bowls with the new ball. Because over the past year, or slightly less than a year, from what I have observed, he hasn't been bowling much inswing with the new ball," he said. "His statistics, compared to before and after the Asia Cup, have slightly declined in terms of new-ball bowling. He will need to pay attention to that, and also keep an eye on his economy rate," added Pathan. Arshdeep Singh has been consistent for the Punjab-based franchise since his debut in the Indian Premier League in 2019. The star pacer has taken 97 wickets in 82 cash-rich league matches for the franchise with a concerning economy rate of nine. PBKS will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 31 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. IPL 2026, Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans: Full Squads Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shashank Singh, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Shreyas Iyer, Ben Dwarshuis, Vishnu Vinod (WK), Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Harpreet Brar, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Cooper Conolly, Mitchell Owen, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Vishal Nishad. Gujarat Titans: Ishant Sharma, Jos Buttler (WK), Jason Holder, Jayant Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Tewatia, Luke Wood, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Shubman Gill (C), Tom Banton (WK), Yarra Raj, Anuj Rawat, Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Arshad Khan, Nishant Sandhu, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma. (With ANI Inputs)
25 March,2026 03:50 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFormer Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has urged Shubman Gill to score runs without looking at the strike rate in the IPL. Ashwin further added that Gill will start the season 'really hungry' after being dropped from the Indian T20 squad for the World Cup.Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Ashwin said that Gill should build on his impressive record in Ahmedabad and 'plunder' runs without worrying about the strike rate."To dismiss him in Ahmedabad, he has become a bit like a don these days; it is quite difficult to get him out. So, I think Shubman Gill has nothing to worry about, and if I were him, I would be telling myself to go out and plunder runs once again. The best way to keep yourself in reckoning is by making a volume of runs. He will be the best batter for GT," said Ashwin on Ash ki Baat.Ashwin further added that scoring runs is 'like a hobby' for Gill. He encouraged the GT skipper to play his shots and pile on the runs."I have no doubt that Shubman will go about his batting business, just like last year. If Shubman keeps chasing strike rate and does not score runs, then GT will struggle big time. I hope he does not do that. He can score runs without chasing a high strike rate." Ashwin added. Ashwin wants Gill to aim for the Orange Cup Ravi Ashwin believes that Gill will be a contender for the Orange Cap after he was dropped from India's T20 WC squad. The former Indian spinner added that GT's top 3 need to fire if the 2022 champions are to enjoy another big season."In the top three of Gill, Sudharsan, and Buttler, Gill will come into the season really hungry. We will get another season where Gill chases the Orange Cap. It may also happen that he gets the Orange Cap, because he can and will do anything to get back into the T20I team," Ashwin said.Last season, Gill was the fourth-highest run-getter with 650 runs in 15 innings at an average of 55.00 and a strike rate of almost 156, with six fifties.(With ANI Input)
25 March,2026 02:19 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFormer RCB skipper Faf du Plessis believes Rishabh Pant should bat at number 3 for LSG in the upcoming IPL season. Du Plessis further added that the LSG captain needs to balance his risk against reward approach and maximise his impact with the bat.Pant played at No 4 last season, before shifting to lower down the order and even as an opener last season. The LSG skipper had a forgettable season before producing his best score of 118 not-out of 61 balls in the last league game."Maybe there is an opportunity for Pant to bat at number three. The numbers suggest that for him to be the best player he can be, number three looks good. I see him batting at number three for LSG this season with Nicholas Pooran sliding down to number four," said du Plessis, speaking on JioStar's 'IPL Today Live'.LSG brought Pant for a record 27 crore before the start of last season. However, his first season as a captain was poor as LSG finished seventh and Pant scored 269 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.45 with a strike rate just over 133.Du Plessis explained the difference between Pant's ability in Test cricket and compared it to his T20 approach."The talent that Pant has is tremendous. You look at him playing Test cricket, and you think, this guy has all the shots. When I look at his game, I feel he has too many options in his head. He feels like he can hit a six off every ball to any part of the ground.""But in T20 batting, you still need a method. You need a game plan for how you go about your business. With Pant, I feel he is always on the edge. When you watch him play, you feel he can get out at any time because it is almost frantic at times," du Plessis said. Lucknow Super Giants 2026 Squad: Rishabh Pant (c), Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Mukul Choudhary, Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mohsin Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, Arjun Tendulkar, Naman Tiwari.(With PTI Input)
25 March,2026 01:49 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe Indian Premier League has grown leaps and bounds over the last few years. The popularity of the tournament has spread all over the world as India has now become the powerhouse of World Cricket. In the ever changing dynamics of the IPL, only one thing remained constant: the fans. However, the IPL ticket chaos has once again shown that the franchises' priority remains elsewhere, and the Indian fans are being taken for granted again.Recently, two IPL giants, the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, both announced ticket sales for their home games. What should have been an exciting opportunity for fans to watch their team once again turned into a nightmare as fans scrambled in front of their screen, trying to book a ticket to watch their team, but to no avail.Well, not everyone can get a ticket, given the huge fanbase and high demand for the IPL matches, right? Well, you can. For more than double the price through a third-party website. Securing an IPL ticket requires a different currency. While the average fan keeps staring at the loading screen, the highest bidder can bypass the queue and secure the best seat by paying double the price on third-party resale sites.The tickets for the RCB home match went live at 4 pm on March 24 and were sold out in less than a minute. Similarly, MI tickets for their home matches were sold out in quick time. However, the tickets for all these matches are still available on third-party websites at exorbitant prices. The tickets for the MI vs KKR match can be found starting from Rs 6,500 on these websites and going as high as over Rs 50,000. For the MI against RCB match, the tickets are a bit more expensive given the high demand. The tickets for the MI-RCB match start at Rs 15,000 and go as high as Rs. 1 lakh for a ticket.Furthermore, you even have the option to book seats that are together, but of course at a higher rate. IPL teams have taken fans for granted with their lack of transparency The lack of transparency with ticket sales is quickly becoming a major issue for the fans. There is a glaring disconnect when official platforms show no availability, yet third-party sites immediately list hundreds of tickets at 5x to 10x the face value.There is a growing lack of trust between the franchise and its fans due to the current ticketing system. With more tickets still to be officially available for other matches, the chaos is set to continue during the IPL 2026.The irony is that the '12th man' of every team is feeling like an outsider trying to get into an invite-only event.
25 March,2026 12:02 PM IST | Mumbai | Atharva UpasaniADVERTISEMENT
