The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season is set to get underway on March 28, with the final scheduled on May 31. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the schedule for the tournament on March 11.
The announcement was delayed owing to the tournament’s clash with assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. While Kolkata (in West Bengal) and Chennai (in Tamil Nadu) are the bases for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) respectively, Guwahati (in Assam) is the second venue for Rajasthan Royals (RR).
One of the other reasons behind the delay was the uncertainty over the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The venue has not hosted any top-flight cricket ever since the tragic stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 2025 victory parade, which claimed 11 lives and left several injured. However, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) received clearance after extensive discussions with RCB officials.
The tournament opener will be played between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and one-time winners Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Chinnaswamy on March 28.
KKR will play their first match on March 30 against MI at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.Â
Kolkata Knight Riders Complete Schedule for IPL 2026:
|
Match No. |
Date |
Day |
Opponent |
Time (IST) |
Venue |
| 02 | March 29 | Sunday | Mumbai Indians |
7:30 |
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
|
06 |
April 02 | Thursday | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
|
12 |
April 06 | Monday | Punjab Kings | 7:30 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
|
15 |
April 09 | Thursday | Luncknow Super Giants | 7:30 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
KKR Home Matches Schedule 2026
|
Match No. |
Date |
Day |
Opponent |
Time (IST) |
Venue |
|
06 |
April 02 | Thursday | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7:30 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
|
12 |
April 06 | Monday | Punjab Kings | 7:30 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
|
15 |
April 09 | Thursday | Luncknow Super Giants | 7:30 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
KKR Away Matches Schedule 2026
|
Match No. |
Date |
Day |
Opponent |
Time (IST) |
Venue |
| 02 | March 29 | Sunday | Mumbai Indians | 7:30 | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2026 Squad
Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Daksh Kamra, Sarthak Ranjan, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Akash Deep, Rachin Ravindra.
