IPL 2026 — the complete desk-side guide to the season

Season overview

IPL 2026 is the nineteenth edition of the league, scheduled from late March to late May with two off-weeks reserved for international fixtures and a small buffer for rain-affected matches. Ten franchises compete across seventy-four group-stage matches; the top four advance to playoff fixtures that determine the trophy lift. Three teams — Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians — are the only sides that have been finalists in the last three editions, and the rest of the league is racing to reach that company.

This hub is the front door for everything IPL 2026 on comeliveipl7. Below is the season explainer in the order most readers move through it; jump to whichever section you need.

How the format actually works

Ten teams play a fourteen-match round-robin schedule — two matches against every other side. The top four on points advance to playoff fixtures. The team finishing first and second earn a second chance in the playoffs; third and fourth are one-and-done. The two playoff finals are usually played on reserved days so rain delays rarely force a shared trophy.

If two teams finish level on points, the net run rate (NRR) is the first tiebreaker, calculated as the run-rate scored minus the run-rate conceded across the season. If that is also level, head-to-head record decides; if all three are level, lots are drawn. The NRR metric rewards teams that win big and lose small, which is why the leaders of the table often have an NRR that’s a fraction ahead of the chasing pack.

All ten franchises

Ten teams compete in IPL 2026. Here is each one in a single line.

• Chennai Super Kings — five-time champions, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, coach Stephen Fleming.
• Mumbai Indians — five-time champions, captain Hardik Pandya, coach Mahela Jayawardene.
• Royal Challengers Bengaluru — one-time champion, captain Rajat Patidar, coach Andy Flower.
• Kolkata Knight Riders — three-time champions, captain Ajinkya Rahane, coach Chandrakant Pandit.
• Sunrisers Hyderabad — two-time champion, captain Pat Cummins, coach Daniel Vettori.
• Gujarat Titans — one-time champion, captain Shubman Gill, coach Ashish Nehra.
• Rajasthan Royals — one-time champion, captain Sanju Samson, coach Rahul Dravid.
• Punjab Kings — never won, captain Shreyas Iyer, coach Ricky Ponting.
• Lucknow Super Giants — never won, captain Rishabh Pant, coach Justin Langer.
• Delhi Capitals — never won, captain Axar Patel, coach Hemang Badani.

Schedule in numbers

The 2026 schedule books 74 league matches into a 56-day window. Most days have a single match starting at 19:30 IST; weekend double-headers begin at 15:30 and 19:30 IST. The 14 group-stage fixtures per team break down as two matches against every other side (home & away), and the playoff fixtures land across two weekends.

Venue rotation

Each franchise plays its “home” matches at its primary venue, with standbys for international fixtures and weather issues. The MA Chidambaram in Chennai remains a slow turner for the second half of the season; the Wankhede in Mumbai plays true batting-friendly from match 1; Eden Gardens in Kolkata sees a noticeable drop-off as the season cools. The complete venue rotation, including the playoff hubs, is on the fixtures page.

Squad sheet

Each team carries a maximum of 25 squad players including a maximum of eight overseas recruits. With Impact Player allowances, each XI effectively uses one extra bench player per match. Roster turnover is most common in the first two weeks, as franchises replace players ruled out through injury before the season deadline.

The Impact Player rule, three years on

Brought in for the 2023 season, the Impact Player rule lets each team substitute one named player into the XI at any point before the 14th over. It was designed to reduce the tactical pain of a bowler batting at number nine; it has, in practice, made the all-rounder less valuable because teams can simply name two specialists and let the substitute cover the gap.

Three years on, the effect shows up in the bowling data. Average runs per wicket has dropped, the strike rate of pinch-hitters is up, and team totals are higher than at any other point in IPL history. Bowlers compensate with slower balls, cutters and tighter lengths at the death.

Playoff math

Sixteen points is the simplest rough benchmark for a playoff spot (ten teams, fourteen matches, half-point-per-game over the season). In practice, twelve points with a high NRR has regularly qualified, and ten with a poor NRR has knocked teams out. The math shifts year to year because of NRR swings in high-scoring games, but the same pattern holds: top two if you’re consistent; top four if your NRR keeps you alive when results wobble.

Captain & vice-captain, by venue

Captain picks move slowly over the season as form rises and falls. The most reliable captain pick of the first week has been Shubman Gill, who was the top fantasy ROI in the opening three matches at home. The most volatile picks have been the power-hitting middle orders at Mumbai and Bengaluru, where any given over can swing the fantasy total.

Past winners & patterns

Eight different franchises have lifted the trophy in the previous 18 editions. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings lead the all-time list with five titles each, and the last seven editions have produced a new finalist. If that pattern holds, the 2026 final will feature a franchise that did not appear in 2025 — making the second-half form of Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants or Delhi Capitals the single most important set of fixtures to follow.

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