Chinnaswamy Stadium and Virat Kohli in frame [Source: X]The IPL 2026 schedule has been officially released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and it has the season opener scheduled for Royal Challengers Bangalore to take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the former's home venue. However, although the location in the announcement has been mentioned as Bengaluru, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is still not confirmed as the venue where the opening clash will be played. This has raised eyebrows among RCB fans since, even after several reports suggested the possibility of the team having their home games at Chinnaswamy, this latest development, where the official announcement stated that the matches scheduled in Bengaluru ‘are subject to clearance’, has left RCB fans in massive doubt. Why M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Did Not Get The Clearance? The tragedy during the celebration of the team's maiden IPL title in 2025 struck down the Stadium's prospects of hosting a massive tournament on a large scale. The open bus parade and the massive crowd gathered to enter the the stadium left 11 dead and over 50 injured. This immediate fallout led to the venue having all cricket matches suspended. Even major cricketing events like the ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 and the T20 World Cup games were also moved away from Bengaluru due to safety issues. Following the tragedy, the government of Karnataka established the Justice John Michael Cunha Commission to investigate the event. The commission found that the stadium's design was fundamentally flawed for modern mass gatherings, and the report provided 17 major suggestions, including gate widening and implementing strict crowd control measures for the reopening of the stadium. Also Read: RCB IPL Schedule 2026: Fixtures, Venues, Full Squad, Date & TimeSecondary Panel Takes Charge Of ClearanceNow, a secondary panel led by Greater Bengaluru Authority Chief Commissioner M. Maheshwar Rao has been tasked to ensure whether Justice Cunha’s Commission's safety recommendations are being properly implemented or not. The Karnataka State Cricket Association has been dismantling and widening spectator gates and installing AI-enabled surveillance, along with the strict government permission of a crowd cap of 35,000 people per match. Even though several reports emerged that RCB would only play at Chinnaswamy after full clearance, the latest developments have sparked confusion among fans. RCB Home Ground Gets New Date Of ExaminationAs of March 11, the IPL 2026 schedule was announced. Ahead of the notification, a major update was provided regarding the the stadium. It was informed that all the matches scheduled in Bengaluru will be subject to clearance from the expert committee constituted by the government of Karnataka. Notably, the committee will be conducting a meeting to inspect the stadium on March 13, where a full-scale mock demonstration of matchday arrangements will be carried out to assess whether the stadium is capable of hosting IPL matches or not. “The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka. The committee will conduct a meeting and inspection of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13, 2026, during which a full-scale mock demonstration of match-day arrangements will be carried out to assess the stadium’s preparedness for hosting IPL matches,” the official statement read.Raipur To Become RCB's New Home?While fans can be assured that the quality control check will be approved and passed with flying colours, if Maheshwar Rao's commission finds Chinnaswamy short of the recommendations provided by the Cunha committee, chances are that the team might have to relocate their home ground. Notably, Royal Challengers Bengaluru has officially designated the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur as its second home ground for the IPL 2026 season. With five matches scheduled for Bengaluru, the Raipur stadium will also host the remaining two matches, acting as their temporary home ground. However, if Chinnaswamy fails to pass the quality test, as a disappointment for RCB fans, the new hosting venue for Rajat Patidar & Co. will be Raipur.Also Read: KKR IPL Schedule 2026: Fixtures, Venues, Full Squad, Date And Time
