Tag: IPL 2026

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has issued a stern advisory to all Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises over misconduct and protocol violations. 

In a seven-page advisory sent on Thursday to all teams, the board said the violations could cause significant reputational harm to the IPL, the respective outfits, and the board.

The advisory, without naming any team, highlighted areas of misconduct and protocol breaches that have occurred during the league.

It mentions actions such as “Unauthorized visitors in hotel rooms, Franchise owners interacting in person with players and team officials in restricted areas during a live match, Vaping at a match venue, and leaving team hotels without permission.

The Board secretary, Devajit Saikia, highlighted violations and certain incidents, adding that if these issues remain unaddressed, they could pose a significant reputational harm to the tournament.

“It has come to the attention of the BCCI that certain incidents of misconduct and protocol violations have occurred involving players, support staff, and team officials during the course of the current IPL season,” Saikia said in the advisory.

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“These incidents, if left unaddressed, carry the potential to cause significant reputational harm to the tournament, the franchise concerned, and the BCCI as the governing body. They may further expose individuals and franchises to legal liability and security risks of a serious nature,” he added.

The advisory follows recent statements by Saikia and IPL Governing Council chair Arun Dhumal, who both mentioned that the BCCI’s anti-corruption and security team had identified several “anomalies’ related to the presence of unauthorized personnel within the team environment.

For the unversed, IPL 2026 has been marred by numerous controversies.

On April 28, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag had been caught vaping during his team’s win over Punjab Kings in Match No. 40 of IPL 2026. TV cameras had shown Parag lighting an e-cigarette.

On April 10, during Match No. 16 between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, RR manager Romi Bhinder was spotted using a cell phone in the team dugout, resulting in a notice from the BCCI.

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The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final will be held in Ahmedabad on May 31, instead of Bengaluru as originally planned, the country’s cricket board announced on Wednesday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated that the venue was shifted due to “certain requirements” from local authorities and the state association.

“Owing to certain requirements from the local association and authorities that were beyond the scope of BCCI’s established guidelines and protocols, the venue has been shifted and reassigned,” the BCCI said in a statement.

Bengaluru was cleared to host five games this IPL season despite a stampede last year outside its main cricket stadium that killed 11 young fans.

Qualifier 1, featuring the top two teams in the standings, will be played on May 26 at Dharamsala, with a direct berth in the final at stake.

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Chandigarh will host the Eliminator on May 27 between the third and fourth-placed teams. The same venue will also stage Qualifier 2 on May 29, where the loser of Qualifier 1 will face the winner of the Eliminator to determine the second finalist.

“Owing to certain operational and logistical considerations, the IPL 2026 Playoffs will be conducted across three venues this season as a special case,” the statement said.

The title clash will be held at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium, with a capacity of 130,000.

The IPL, the world’s richest cricket league, attracts leading international players and is broadcast globally, with several franchises backed by Bollywood stars.

It is also a top revenue earner for the BCCI and was estimated in 2020 to generate more than $11 billion a year for the Indian economy.

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Disciplined bowling and an unbeaten 87 by opener Sanju Samson helped Chennai Super Kings stay in the hunt for the IPL 2026 playoffs with an eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals on Tuesday.

Batting first on a tough pitch backfired for hosts Delhi, who slipped to 69-5 before posting 155-7 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Five-time champions Chennai lost two early wickets in the chase, but Samson paced his 52-ball knock to perfection as his team chased down the target with 15 balls to spare.

Samson, a wicketkeeper-batter, put on an unbeaten 114-run stand with Kartik Sharma, who made 41, as the two ensured a fifth win for Chennai in 10 matches to be sixth in the 10-team table.

Delhi’s chances of making the playoffs took a hit as they went down to their sixth defeat.

The top four teams at the end of the league stage will qualify for the playoffs.

In-form Samson, who has hit two centuries in IPL 2026, reached his fifty in 32 balls and finished with seven fours and six sixes.

He has scored 402 runs in 10 matches this edition and is fifth in the batting chart led by Delhi’s KL Rahul (445).

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Samson came into this edition of the IPL on the back of three half-centuries in the last three matches of India’s T20 World Cup triumph on home soil in March.

Delhi’s South Africa pace bowler Lungi Ngidi returned after missing the previous two matches with a concussion.

Ngidi claimed 1-30, dismissing skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, for six, with a pacy delivery.

But it was the Chennai bowlers who exploited the surface. Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad stood out with figures of 2-22 and was ably supported by fellow spinner Akeal Hosein (1-19).

Fast bowlers Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, and England’s Jamie Overton claimed one wicket each as they bowled good lengths to restrict the opposition.

South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs made 38, and impact substitute Sameer Rizvi struck an unbeaten 40 off 24 balls to hit back after Delhi lost half their side in the 11th over.

Stubbs and Rizvi, who struck four sixes, put on 65 runs for the sixth wicket, but the effort was not enough to test Chennai’s batting.

One of the most successful franchises in the T20 tournament, Chennai are still waiting for the return of veteran M.S. Dhoni, who is recovering from an injury and is yet to play a game in this edition.

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Indian steel magnate Lakshmi N Mittal and family, alongside vaccine billionaire Adar Poonawalla, have struck a $1.65 billion deal for Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals, a joint statement said on Sunday.

The IPL is the world’s richest cricket tournament and mixes sport and show business in a glitzy format. It is broadcast around the world and features top international stars, with some teams fronted by Bollywood superstars.

The Mittal family will own about 75 percent of the franchise following completion, with Poonawalla holding around 18 percent, the statement said.

The remainder will stay with approved existing investors, including seller Manoj Badale.

As well as the IPL team, Rajasthan Royals also owns Paarl Royals in South Africa and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean.

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“The transaction consideration is approximately $1.65 billion and represents the enterprise value of Rajasthan Royals’ men’s franchise, Paarl Royals and Barbados Royals,” the statement said.

Rajasthan have not won a trophy since 2008, when late Australian great Shane Warne led them to the inaugural title.

“I love cricket and my family is from Rajasthan, so there is no IPL team that I would rather be part of than the Rajasthan Royals,” Mittal said in a statement.

Poonawalla said he looked forward to supporting the franchise’s long-term growth.

“Rajasthan Royals is a premier IPL franchise with a strong legacy,” he said.

Badale, who has been involved with the Royals since their inception, will remain a shareholder and join the board alongside the new investors.

“We are delighted to welcome the Mittal Family and Adar Poonawalla as the new owners of the Rajasthan Royals,” he said.

“Their passion for cricket, their connection to Rajasthan and India, and their long-term ambition for the franchise make them ideal custodians.”

The announcement comes after a group of investors, including US asset management giant Blackstone, bought reigning IPL champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru for $1.77 billion in March.

The IPL is a top revenue earner for the Board of Control for Cricket in India and was estimated in 2020 to generate more than $11 billion a year for the Indian economy.

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Sparkling cameos by skipper Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler complemented a stellar display, carrying Gujarat Titans to a four-wicket victory over defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Thursday.

All seven previous matches in the IPL between the sides had been won by the chasing team, and Gill therefore had little hesitation in asking Bengaluru to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Virat Kohli smashed Kagiso Rabada for five fours in the second over of the match before succumbing to the same bowler not long thereafter as Bengaluru went from 79 for two to 155 all out.

Devdutt Padikkal top-scored with a fluent 40, while left-arm pacer Arshad Khan (3/22), Gujarat’s most successful bowler, received excellent support from Afghan Rashid Khan.

West Indian Jason Holder had headlined a flawless first half for Gujarat with three catches to go with the wickets of Jitesh Sharma and Romario Shepherd, triggering a middle-order collapse which compelled Bengaluru to summon Venkatesh Iyer as the impact substitute.

“It was one of those nights (when the ball kept following me),” player-of-the-match Holder said.

“The energy was quite high. I am just happy to hold on to the chances and happy to help the team win.”

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Having deployed Venkatesh, Bengaluru found themselves a specialist seamer short and Gujarat made them pay despite a wobble during the middle stages of the modest chase.

Bengaluru were heavily reliant on the seasoned new-ball duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood to strike early, but Gill had other ideas.

The opener tore into Hazlewood, hammering the Australian for three fours and two sixes in the second over to give his team a strong start.

Bengaluru fought back through Bhuvneshwar, who accounted for Sudharsan and Gill after a sparkling 43, but Buttler kept up the momentum with a hat-trick of sixes in his knock of 39.

Bhuvneshwar returned for a one-over final spell during which he yorked Buttler for his 17th wicket of the season.

With their prolific top three back in the hut, Gujarat made heavy weather of the chase.

Shepherd, getting an extended bowl largely because Bengaluru didn’t have a specialist third seamer, dismissed Shahrukh Khan and Washington Sundar in the space of three deliveries to spark some excitement, but Gill and Buttler had scored so rapidly that Gujarat didn’t have to contend with run-rate pressure.

Rahul Tewatia held the second half of the chase together and Rashid struck the winning boundary with 25 deliveries to spare.

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Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag could face disciplinary action from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after he was seen vaping in the dressing room during his team’s win over Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

Images of Parag, 24, using an e‑cigarette during Tuesday’s match in Chandigarh were broadcast live on television and quickly went viral on social media.

E‑cigarettes are banned in India under a 2019 law that prohibits their manufacture, import, sale and storage, regardless of nicotine content.

Violations can attract fines of up to 500,000 rupees ($6,000) and jail terms. Personal possession and vaping in public is also banned.

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Riyan Parag scored 29 runs as Rajasthan handed table‑toppers Punjab their first defeat of the season, successfully chasing down 222.

The captain has struggled with the bat this season, scoring just 117 runs in nine matches at an average of 14.62.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could fine Parag for breaching IPL rules and setting a poor example.

Rajasthan, winners of the inaugural IPL in 2008 under late Australian great Shane Warne, recently had their team manager, Ravinder Singh Bhinder, fined 100,000 rupees for using a mobile phone in the dugout during a match.

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Controversy erupted after Rajasthan Royals (RR) manager Romi Bhinder was caught using a mobile phone in the team dugout during an IPL 2026 clash.

Bhinder has been in numerous roles with RR since 2008 and is also the guardian of the teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

The video of Bhinder using a mobile phone soon went viral on social media during the clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sitting next to him in the team’s dugout.

Despite the footage, Romi Bhinder is not yet charged with a breach of the IPL code of conduct.

Following the incident, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has launched a probe and will review the video before reaching any conclusion.

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“We need to thoroughly examine where exactly the event happened and whether the phone was used. We will conduct an internal examination before reaching a logical conclusion,” he said.

“Yes, Bhinder has indeed breached the protocol of the players’ and match officials’ area (PMOA) as cell phones are banned in the dugout during a match,” Cricinfo cited a BCCI official.

“It could be inadvertent, but there has to be some action since it amounts to a breach.” Whether it will be warning or match ban will depend on match referee and ACU [anti-corruption unit] report. Based on that, the IPL governing council can take a call,” he added.

According to PMOA protocol, the team manager is permitted to use a mobile phone in the dressing room but NOT in the dugout.”

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Pace bowler Nuwan Thushara has issued an apology to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and expressed his willingness to withdraw legal proceedings following a dispute over the denial of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

In a formal email addressed to SLC Chief Executive Officer Ashley de Silva, with copies sent to board president Shammi Silva and another senior official, the fast bowler clarified that his actions were never intended to escalate the matter into a legal confrontation.

“My sole intention throughout this process has been to seek fairness and justice, as I genuinely feel that I have been treated unfairly in this matter,” Thushara wrote.

He further emphasised that his initial steps were motivated by a desire to have his concerns heard, rather than to create conflict or damage the reputation of the board.

“The steps I initially considered were driven by a desire to have my concerns heard and addressed appropriately, rather than to create conflict or bring disrepute to the organization,” he added.

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Nuwan Thushara also expressed regret over any inconvenience caused to the board and its officials during the ongoing dispute.

“I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience, misunderstanding, or distress that my actions may have caused to Sri Lanka Cricket and its officials,” he stated.

In the same communication, the pacer indicated that he remains open to an amicable resolution and is prepared to withdraw legal action altogether.

“With this in mind, I would like to express my willingness to withdraw any legal action and instead seek an amicable resolution to this matter. I remain hopeful that we can move forward in a positive and constructive manner,” he said.

The right-arm fast bowler had earlier approached the Colombo District Court, seeking an order compelling SLC to issue him an NOC for franchise opportunities abroad, including the IPL.

However, the request was rejected by SLC because he had not met the board’s newly introduced fitness requirements, which led to the escalation of the dispute.

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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have suffered a major setback in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, with Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga ruled out due to injury.

The development was confirmed by LSG’s director of cricket, Tom Moody, who revealed that the franchise is already in the process of finalising a replacement, expected to be announced within the next 24 to 48 hours.

“We are preparing for the fact that he isn’t going to be able to join us,” Moody said while speaking during LSG’s clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Kolkata. “We are looking at replacements, and that should be announced soon.”

Hasaranga has been out of action since suffering a left hamstring tear during Sri Lanka’s opening game of the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

His situation was further complicated after reports suggested he had not completed the mandatory fitness assessments required by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for IPL participation.

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LSG had secured Hasaranga’s services for INR 2 crore, but the leg-spinner has been unable to link up with the squad due to his ongoing rehabilitation.

He previously featured for the Rajasthan Royals and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in his IPL career.

South African spinner George Linde is currently understood to be the leading candidate to replace Wanindu Hasaranga.

Despite yet to make his IPL debut, Linde brings extensive T20 experience, having played across multiple franchise leagues, including SA20, The Hundred, Major League Cricket, and the Pakistan Super League.

The left-arm spinner has picked up 218 wickets in 250 T20 matches at an economy rate of 7.42, though his recent international form has been modest, managing just one wicket in four outings against New Zealand.

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Indian batting icon Virat Kohli has responded with humour to the viral chatter labelling him as an “overseas player” for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

The light-hearted debate gained traction among fans due to Kohli’s increased time spent in London with his family in recent years, leading to jokes that RCB are effectively fielding an extra overseas player.

Despite scaling down his international commitments, having stepped away from Tests and T20Is and now featuring only in ODIs, the former India captain continues to remain a central figure for his franchise.

Addressing the speculation in a video shared by RCB, Kohli was quizzed by content creator Danish Sait, known for his popular ‘Mr. Nags’ persona.

The host referenced fan claims about RCB playing with “five overseas players,” prompting a witty response from Kohli.

“I don’t know why you’re asking me. Ask the overseas players. I am not an overseas player,” Virat Kohli said with a laugh, before playfully turning the question back, “Am I an overseas player?”

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The 37-year-old began the ongoing IPL season in commanding fashion, scoring an unbeaten 69 to guide RCB to victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening fixture as defending champions.

Reflecting on last season’s long-awaited title triumph, Kohli admitted the victory brought a sense of relief after years of near misses with the franchise he has represented since the league’s inception.

“That night, I really felt what it means. Everything became light,” he said, describing the emotional weight lifted after finally securing the title.

He also offered insight into his mindset around success and failure, emphasising the importance of perseverance.

“Victory is the accumulation of hard work, all the sacrifices you’ve made, to be committed to the sport. It all comes together as a form of assurance, a reward, to know that you haven’t wasted your time,” Kohli added.

“A lot of people learn from losses, but a lot of people can get very disheartened as well. So when you win after a lot of hard work, it makes you feel a sense of justice for the work that you put in, and also gives you motivation to work harder.”

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