THE BOARD OF Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has revealed that Bengaluru was stripped of its hosting rights for the IPL 2026 playoffs and final after the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) allegedly demanded around 10,000 additional complimentary tickets beyond the quota permitted under IPL regulations.
The controversy has sparked debate across the cricketing community, especially because Bengaluru, home of defending IPL champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, had initially been expected to host at least one playoff and the final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Instead, the BCCI reassigned the Qualifier 1 to Dharamshala, Eliminator and Qualifier 2 to New Chandigarh, and the IPL 2026 Final to Ahmedabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The Karnataka State Cricket Association had expressed disappointment over losing the hosting rights and claimed the BCCI had not formally communicated any specific reasons for the shift at the time of the announcement. KSCA maintained that the stadium was fully prepared to host the high-profile fixtures and that operational arrangements had already been made.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia has publicly explained the board’s position a day after the revised playoff venues were announced. According to Saikia, IPL hosting rules allow state associations to receive complimentary tickets amounting to 15% of a stadium’s seating capacity. However, the BCCI allegedly received reports that KSCA was seeking a much larger allocation during league-stage matches.
Saikia said the board sought clarification from KSCA via email and was “shocked” by the response received on May 2. The email reportedly requested additional tickets for KSCA members, tickets for affiliated clubs, complimentary passes for Karnataka MLAs and MLCs, around 700 tickets for the Karnataka government, and roughly 10,000 extra tickets beyond the permitted quota overall. He described the demand as being “far above” IPL protocol and said the request played a major role in the decision to move the marquee fixtures out of Bengaluru.
