The 12bet IPL 2026 hub — the full 74-match schedule, all 10 franchise squads, venue-by-venue guide, travel density table, top-10 players to watch and fantasy XI picks for the season opener.
The IPL 2026 schedule covers 74 matches across 10 venues, played over 8 weeks from March 22 to May 24, 2026. The schedule was announced on February 14, 2026, after the auction in Jeddah. The schedule is published in full on this page, with venue, date, start time and the 12bet model probability for both teams.
The 10 venues are the Wankhede (Mumbai), the Chinnaswamy (Bengaluru), the Chepauk (Chennai), the Eden Gardens (Kolkata), the Arun Jaitley Stadium (Delhi), the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium (Hyderabad), the Sawai Mansingh Stadium (Jaipur), the PCA Stadium (Mohali), the Narendra Modi Stadium (Ahmedabad) and the BRSABV Ekana Stadium (Lucknow).
The schedule includes 6 day matches and 68 evening matches (7:30 PM IST start, 3:30 PM IST start for double-headers). The final is at the Eden Gardens on May 24, 2026. The playoff venues are the Chepauk (Qualifier 1, May 19), the Wankhede (Eliminator, May 20) and the Eden Gardens (Qualifier 2, May 23).
The 10 franchises each have a 25-player squad for IPL 2026. The squad database on this page is updated within an hour of every release, signing, trade and injury update. The database powers the squad pages, the captain pick and the fantasy XI builder inside the app.
The biggest squad news of IPL 2026 is Mumbai Indians' retention of their core (Rohit, Bumrah, Pandya) plus two new overseas signings — a South African death-overs specialist at ₹18 crore and a New Zealand middle-order batter at ₹9 crore. The MI squad is the most expensive in IPL history, at ₹118 crore (against the ₹110 crore salary cap, requiring a ₹8 crore player release).
Chennai Super Kings went in the opposite direction, releasing three of their 2025 squad (including a long-serving all-rounder) and rebuilding around a younger Indian core. The CSK squad is the second-cheapest in IPL 2026 at ₹87 crore. The full squad-by-squad analysis is on the IPL fantasy cricket hub.
The IPL 2026 schedule has 6 back-to-back match days (consecutive days for the same team) and 14 travel days (a team plays in one city and flies to another for the next match). The 12bet travel index weights a side's recent travel density into the captain recommendation.
In the 2025 IPL, the average "tired" team (one that had played in the previous 2 days) underperformed its projected fantasy points by 8 percent. The 12bet model flagged this on 22 of the 28 occasions where it applied. The travel index is most predictive in the back-to-back match days.
The travel-density table is on this page. The table shows, for each team, the number of back-to-back match days, the longest travel leg and the average rest between matches. Use the table to plan your captain picks for the back-to-back fixtures.
The 10 venues in IPL 2026 have distinct characteristics. The Wankhede favours batting (average first-innings score 196 in 2025), with short square boundaries and a fast outfield. The Chinnaswamy is the highest-scoring venue (198), with small boundaries and a flat pitch. The Chepauk is the lowest-scoring venue (156), with a slow turner that favours spinners.
The Eden Gardens has a balanced pitch (average 178) but a strong dew factor in the second innings. The chasing side wins 62 percent of the time at Eden. The Arun Jaitley Stadium (Delhi) favours seam bowling in the first innings and batting in the second (due to dew).
The Rajiv Gandhi (Hyderabad), Sawai Mansingh (Jaipur), PCA (Mohali) and Narendra Modi (Ahmedabad) are batting-friendly venues with average first-innings scores between 175 and 185. The BRSABV (Lucknow) is the newest venue in IPL 2026 and has a slightly bowler-friendly track (average 168).
The top 10 players to watch in IPL 2026 are listed below. The list is built from three inputs: projected fantasy points, captaincy fit (how often the player is likely to be the optimal captain pick), and role split (how many roles the player can fill).
1. Rohit Sharma (MI, top-order batter) — projected 480 fantasy points across the season, optimal captain in 14 matches. 2. Virat Kohli (RCB, top-order batter) — projected 460 fantasy points, optimal captain in 12 matches. 3. Hardik Pandya (MI, all-rounder) — projected 440 fantasy points, optimal captain in 11 matches.
4. Jasprit Bumrah (MI, strike bowler) — projected 380 fantasy points, optimal captain in 9 matches. 5. Sunil Narine (KKR, all-rounder) — projected 360 fantasy points, optimal captain in 9 matches. 6. Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR, top-order batter) — projected 340 fantasy points, optimal captain in 8 matches.
7. Rashid Khan (SRH, strike bowler) — projected 320 fantasy points, optimal captain in 7 matches. 8. Andre Russell (KKR, all-rounder) — projected 310 fantasy points, optimal captain in 7 matches. 9. Pat Cummins (SRH, strike bowler) — projected 290 fantasy points, optimal captain in 6 matches. 10. Sanju Samson (RR, wicketkeeper) — projected 280 fantasy points, optimal captain in 6 matches.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede on March 22, 2026. MI won the toss and elected to bat. The 12bet model gives MI a 58 percent win probability at toss; the bookmaker consensus is 55 percent. The captain pick is Hardik Pandya (all-rounder, MI), with Devon Conway (top-order batter, CSK) as vice-captain.
The XI allocates 32 credits to three MI batters (Rohit, Surya, Kishan), 24 credits to two MI all-rounders (Hardik, Sundar), 18 credits to three CSK bowlers (Pathirana, Chahar, Theekshana), 14 credits to the MI wicketkeeper (Rickleton) and 12 credits to two CSK differential picks (Dube, Rizvi). Total spend: 100 credits.
The team scored 412 fantasy points in the equivalent 2025 matchup. The full prediction, including the inputs and the projected win probability, is logged on the match prediction hub.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chinnaswamy on March 23, 2026. The 12bet model gives RCB a 56 percent win probability; the bookmaker consensus is 53 percent. The captain pick is Virat Kohli (top-order batter, RCB), with Sunil Narine (all-rounder, KKR) as vice-captain.
The XI allocates 35 credits to three RCB batters (Kohli, Patidar, Salt), 24 credits to three RCB bowlers (Siraj, Hazlewood, the new left-arm seamer), 22 credits to two KKR all-rounders (Narine, Russell), 12 credits to one KKR wicketkeeper and 7 credits to one differential pick. Total spend: 100 credits.
The team scored 396 fantasy points in the equivalent 2025 matchup. The full prediction is on the match prediction hub.
This hub is updated within an hour of every squad announcement, every trade, every injury update and every match result. The hub powers the captain pick on the homepage, the fantasy XI builder inside the app, and the live tracker on the live matches hub.
During the IPL season, the editorial desk publishes three new pieces per day: a pre-match preview (24 hours before the first ball), a captain pick (4 hours before toss), and a post-match recap (within 2 hours of the match end). The pre-match preview includes the full input audit (form, venue, head-to-head, weather, toss). The captain pick includes the framework output and the editorial adjustment.
The post-match recap includes the result, the score, the player of the match, the captain pick's actual performance, and the input-to-output reconciliation (where the model was right, where it was wrong, what the next match's inputs should be). The full archive of previews, captain picks and recaps is on the match prediction hub.
March 22, 2026 at the Wankhede — MI vs CSK. The season runs until May 24, 2026 with the final at Eden Gardens.
The 10 venues are the same as 2025 — Wankhede, Chinnaswamy, Chepauk, Eden Gardens, Arun Jaitley, Rajiv Gandhi, Sawai Mansingh, PCA, Narendra Modi and BRSABV Ekana.
₹110 crore per franchise, with a maximum of 25 players per squad. The breakdown is documented on the IPL fantasy cricket hub.
Mumbai Indians (retained core + 2 overseas signings) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (balanced XI). The full projection is on the match prediction hub.
74 matches across 8 weeks, with 6 back-to-back match days and 14 travel days. The travel density affects form — see the travel index on the IPL 2026 hub.
Maximum 4 overseas players per XI. The slot allocation is the most consequential decision each match — see the IPL fantasy cricket hub.
Strong dew in the second innings — chasing side wins 62 percent of the time. The 12bet model adjusts for dew in every match preview.
The squad-by-squad breakdown is on the IPL fantasy cricket hub. The analysis is updated after every trade and injury update.
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