Karnataka government’s expert panel set to conduct final inspection at M Chinnaswamy ahead of IPL 2026
M Chinnaswamy Stadium (Source: Getty Images)
Published - 13 Mar 2026, 11:21 AM• Read time - 2 mins
An expert panel appointed by the Karnataka government is slated to conduct its final inspection of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, March 13, before green-lighting the venue to play host to the matches during IPL 2026.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium has undergone an overhaul based on the recommendation of the Justice D'Cunha Committee, which was appointed after the stampede that resulted in 11 deaths during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) IPL 2025 victory celebrations.
Among the latest renovations, new direct entry and exit routes are keeping the emergency in mind.
The defending champions, RCB, will square off against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2026 season opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28. The KSCA, under the presidency of Venkatesh Prasad, has been moving heaven and earth to bring top-tier cricket back to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The KSCA had allotted the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 final involving Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir to Hubballi. Therefore, the RCB vs SRH game of the upcoming IPL season on March 28 will be the first competitive game at the venue since the RCB vs CSK match on May 3, which the hosts won by two runs.
RCB will have several new faces in their dug-out in the upcoming season, in the form of Vihaan Malhotra and Kanishk Chouhan. Both players were a part of India's U19 World Cup-winning squad of 2026 and stood out with their outstanding performances. All eyes will be on the ex-KKR allrounder Venkatesh Iyer, who was bought by RCB for INR 7 crore at the 2026 IPL auction in Abu Dhabi.
RCB IPL 2026 Squad
Rajat Patidar (C), Tim David, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Philip Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Thushara, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh, Vicky Ostwal, Satvik Deswal
