IPL 2026 Final Moved from Bengaluru Over Ticket Demand Dispute

As per the convention, with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru winning IPL 2025, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was to host Qualifier 2 and Final. But the BCCI announced on Wednesday that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will instead host the final on May 31.

The HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala will host Qualifier 1 on May 26, while the new PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh will stage the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 on May 27 and 29, respectively.

"As per IPL protocol, all state associations receive a 15 percent allocation of their total capacity as complimentary tickets. But we have come to know from various sources that during the hosting of the IPL league matches, the Karnataka State Association is taking much more than 15 percent complimentary tickets.

"So, we put an email to them requesting them to give us the exact information, and what will be their requirement that we have stated in our email on May 1 in a very specific manner that 'You are entitled to get the 15 percent of the total capacity tickets as complimentary and nothing beyond can be done and all other tickets has to be sold online for the general public.'"

"That is the mandate of the Honourable Supreme Court also because their particular percentage of the tickets must go to the general public so that all common people should get a full opportunity to buy tickets and watch the IPL matches and other BCCI matches," said Saikia on Thursday.

Though the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) said they were willing to host the games at the venue, who hosted five league games of RCB this year, and that the BCCI decided without any formal communication, Saikia revealed the demand of giving tickets to MLAs and MLCs meant the governing body asked for tickets beyond its usual brief, thus paving the way for Ahmedabad to host its fourth IPL final in five seasons.

"However, we were shocked to get an email from Karnataka State Cricket Association on May 2, where they have stated that beyond the 15 percent, and after taking the 15 percent complimentary tickets, they would require another huge chunk of tickets for their members, clubs, various miscellaneous areas, then for their life members and most surprisingly we have to also shell out 900 tickets for their local MLAs and MLCs and also to the Government of Karnataka - 700 number of complimentary tickets.

"That apart also, a few additional complimentary tickets have to be given to the Cricket Association, to distribute to the persons whom they feel like. So, beyond 15 percent, they were asking about another 10,000 tickets, and as you all know, BCCI is the hosting authority for the playoffs and final matches.

"All the league matches are the responsibility of the franchises and state cricket associations, as they conduct the games. For the playoffs, the BCCI is responsible for hosting, and therefore, we cannot violate our protocols by issuing tickets in excess of what is permitted under the IPL's rules and regulations - specifically, the 15% complimentary quota allocated to the host state.

"Consequently, we were compelled to make the difficult decision to relocate the matches from Karnataka, that is Bengaluru, and from BCCI's perspective, Ahmedabad is the most suitable venue - there's demand from the general and global public for the tickets to watch the final, as that's a huge capacity ground and as a result, we will host the final there," he concluded.

- IANS