Bengaluru IPL 2026 matches uncertain: RCB non-committal on KSCA's request
In an official statement, RCB welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to allow matches at the stadium and they also appreciated the Karnataka State Cricket Association’s (KSCA) efforts to resume matches at the iconic venue
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Wednesday (January 21) remained non-committal on playing IPL 2026 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and said there are “still a few grey areas” that need to be looked into before making a decision.
In an official statement, RCB welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to allow matches at the stadium and they also appreciated the Karnataka State Cricket Association’s (KSCA) efforts to resume matches at the iconic venue.
Also read: IPL 2026 at Chinnaswamy Stadium: Ball in RCB's court now, says KSCA
The statement comes a few hours after KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad said that the ball was in RCB’s court to decide on playing at Chinnaswamy Stadium. He urged RCB to return to their home ground.
What RCB said
“From our preliminary conversations, there are still a few grey areas that need to be looked into, and we are considering these parameters and inputs from all stakeholders before arriving at a responsible decision for the team and our fans,” RCB said in a statement.
Matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium were banned after 11 people were killed in a stampede at RCB’s IPL 2025 victory celebrations on June 4, 2025, outside their home venue.
RCB said they desired to play again in front of their home fans and want to understand the conditions applied to play at their home ground.
RCB laud fans
“We welcome Karnataka Government’s decision to allow matches to be held in the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium and we also recognise and highly appreciate KSCA’s efforts in the ongoing infrastructure work that has led to this conditional approval to host matches,” the Bengaluru franchise said.
“While our desire is always to play at our home ground, in front of our ardent fans, we want to be thorough in our commitment to further understand the conditions applicable to host matches here and the measures taken to ensure fans safety protocols are met. Our goal is to see how best all stakeholders involved can work together,” they added.
Further, the franchise said, “We have repeatedly stated that fans are the heart and soul of RCB, we have always had a fans-first approach, and we want to work together to ensure they have the best and safe experience.”