After the major fiasco at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru last year, the home IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), had to relocate its home ground for the upcoming season after the KSCA could not fix the issues at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and make it deemed fit for hosting.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their first-ever title in IPL 2025 under their new and young skipper, Rajat Patidar. RCB’s win came at the juncture when no one believed that they could have won it this season.
However, what happened after the win last season would remain as the darkest day in the history of the IPL. Several RCB fans who gathered for their victory procession were caught up in a stampede situation, and several people died in the outbreak. This posed several questions on the management of the Chinnaswamy Stadium and the KSCA, alongside the authorities responsible for the conduct.
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The commission, which was set up to lead an investigation into the incidents from that day, later ruled out Chinnaswamy as a likely venue for public gatherings or even holding matches with such a massive crowd.
RCB relocate to new venue ahead of IPL 2026
After several attempts from the KSCA, the Chinnaswamy Stadium could not be deemed suitable for hosting such competitive games. Hence, the defending champions will have to shift their home proceedings to some other venue.
As per the reports from TOI, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru side will now be playing their home matches in the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai and the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur. This means that legendary Indian cricketer Virat Kohli will play in RCB shirts but not at the Chinnaswamy for the first time in 19 editions.
The report further stated that five of their home matches will be played in Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, and two matches will be played in Raipur at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium. “The RCB officials have finalised all arrangements after meetings with concerned officials,” a TOI report confirmed.
Rajasthan Royals secure the MCA Stadium as their home ground for the IPL season
On the other hand, the Rajasthan Royals were also looking forward to a venue shift from their previous venue of Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. This came after some disagreement and clashes with the Rajasthan Cricket Association.
The clash began when an RCA official had imposed match-fixing allegations on the Rajasthan Royals, who were once suspended over the same issue in 2016. Further issues that resulted in the shift were seating capacity issues and the lack of proper facilities.
The Rajasthan Royals have now shifted their home venue to the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium in Gahunje, Pune, and will play their home matches on this venue for IPL 2026.
In today’s TOI:) pic.twitter.com/DLSc8vP96x
— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) January 13, 2026
Royal Challengers Bengaluru to defend their title for the first time in 2026
Royal Challengers Bengaluru not only won their first title in 2025 but also kept the faith of their numerous fans who supported them with loyalty over all these years. They will hence defend their title for the first time in an IPL season.
Rajat Patidar is likely to continue as the captain of the side and will have Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya coming to his aid. Players like Phil Salt, Tim David, Jacob Bethell and Josh Hazlewood will be joined by new inclusions in Venkatesh Iyer and Mangesh Yadav, in whom RCB have invested big money and immense faith.
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