According to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will host two of their games in Raipur in the 2026 Indian Premier League. For the next tournament, Royal Challengers will use a number of temporary locations after the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was ruled out due to safety concerns. Two IPL matches will now take place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.
After a seventeen-year wait, RCB finally won their first IPL trophy in 2025, but a terrible stampede marred the festivities in Bengaluru.
An independent tribunal deemed the M Chinnaswamy Stadium unfit to hold sizable crowds after the sad event during the team’s victory parade last year killed eleven lives. The venue consequently lost its ability to host IPL games as well as matches from the 2025 Women’s World Cup and the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup. In spite of promises from Venkatesh Prasad, the new president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), RCB was compelled to search for alternate home grounds for the 2026 IPL.
Raipur will host two IPL matches as part of RCB’s home schedule, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai stated on Tuesday. The Chief Minister and RCB CEO Rajesh Menon met before the news was made.
“Today, we had a conversation with Rajesh Menon, the CEO of RCB. He arrived to greet us. In a public statement, Sai stated, “We have decided that two IPL matches will take place here.”
आज भारतीय क्रिकेट कंट्रोल बोर्ड (BCCI) के संयुक्त सचिव श्री प्रभतेज सिंह भाटिया जी एवं आईपीएल 2025 की चैंपियन टीम रॉयल चैलेंजर्स बेंगलुरु (RCB) के वाइस प्रेसिडेंट श्री राजेश मेनन जी से सौजन्य मुलाकात हुई।
इस अवसर पर RCB टीम की जर्सी भेंट की गई तथा आगामी आईपीएल मैचों के आयोजन को… pic.twitter.com/bPIdHDYak7
— Vishnu Deo Sai (@vishnudsai) January 13, 2026
The following home games for RCB will be held at DY Patil in Navi Mumbai: Report
The Chief Minister later shared further information on X, stating that he met BCCI Joint Secretary Prabhtej Singh Bhatia during the talks. Sai claimed that in-depth discussions on the planning and logistics needed to host IPL games were held, and that during the courtesy meeting, he was given an RCB shirt.
The Chhattisgarh State Cricket Association and Royal Challengers officials are said to have already visited and discussed the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium. Preparations to host the matches are anticipated to pick up speed now that the Chief Minister has confirmed. When the Delhi Capitals played the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2013, Raipur hosted its final IPL game.
The DY Patil Stadium in M is expected to host Royal Challengers final five home games, according to reports. Following the failure of the Rajasthan Cricket Association to hold elections, the Rajasthan Royals are anticipated to move their home games to the MCA Stadium in Pune.
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