Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five of their seven home fixtures at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after sealing a long-discussed agreement with the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on Monday. The decision, shared with the BCCI earlier in the day, clears the way for Bengaluru to stage the tournament opener on 28 March, subject to the official fixture release later this week.
Two other home matches remain earmarked for Raipur’s Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium, honouring an MoU signed in January between RCB and the Chhattisgarh state government. That agreement, supported by chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai, includes tax concessions and promotional backing aimed at widening the league’s reach.
Key safety clarifications
While KSCA’s new president Venkatesh Prasad was always confident the ground could host, RCB executives wanted written clarity on who would shoulder responsibility should anything go wrong in and around the venue. With three separate bodies involved – the franchise, KSCA and local authorities – the word “organisers” in policing documents felt woolly to club lawyers. Monday’s meeting is understood to have resolved that ambiguity.
In a brief statement the franchise quoted chief executive Rajesh Menon: the club had “completed necessary due processes around permissions”. No further detail was offered, though insiders say the comfort letter from state police was the final piece of paperwork.
Stadium work under the clock
KSCA still have a tight deadline. The state government’s 17-point improvement list, drawn up after last year’s tragic crush outside the ground, must be ticked off by 15 March. Among the jobs: widening turnstile gates, carving clearer ambulance lanes and opening the old National Cricket Academy site as a holding zone so crowds can be funnelled into stands rather than packed onto approach roads.
The John Justice D’Cunha audit, commissioned after 11 fatalities during the 2025 victory parade, highlighted narrow exits as the single biggest risk. KSCA engineers began work in December and insist the bulk of civil tasks are already done. The association has not been asked to cut capacity, a relief for RCB given the atmosphere – and gate revenue – the 40,000-plus crowd brings.
Why Raipur still matters
Some supporters have questioned the logic of splitting home games, but RCB management view Raipur as a strategic move. Newer markets, cheaper overheads and a promise of government support all add up. The franchise also trialled a pre-season camp there two years ago and found conditions similar enough to Chinnaswamy to avoid major tactical shifts.
Looking ahead
If the outstanding construction work stays on schedule, Bengaluru should welcome back IPL cricket with little disruption. The venue hosted a women’s T20I last month without incident, offering a dry run for the new security protocols. Players are due to assemble on 18 March for a short camp, and coaching staff have already asked for evening practice slots to match likely match timings.
All told, Chinnaswamy remains RCB’s spiritual home and, now, its confirmed home for most of 2026. The split-venue approach might not please every fan, yet it gives the club both the familiarity of Bengaluru and the expansion potential of Raipur – a balance many other franchises will watch with interest.
