IPL 2026 will be held between March 26 and May 31, occupying the same window it has in recent years.
While the BCCI hasn't announced the full fixtures yet, the 19th edition of the IPL will kick off roughly three weeks after the conclusion of the men's T20 World Cup - scheduled from February 7 to March 8 in India and Sri Lanka - and run for just over two months.
It also means that for the second year running, the IPL will clash with the PSL, which is scheduled to be held between March 26 and May 3.
The IPL teams, who announced their list of retained and released players in mid-November, are currently getting into the IPL auction on December 16 in Abu Dhabi, where 369 players have been shortlisted to go under the hammer.
A total of 77 slots are available, including 31 for overseas players. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have the most vacancies, 13, followed by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) with ten. After trades and retentions, KKR also have the biggest purse available: INR 64.30 crore (US$7.1 million approx.). Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are next with INR 43.40 crore (US$4.8 million approx.).
The IPL 2025 final was won on June 3 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who made it their first IPL title win with a six-run win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Ahmedabad.