IPL chairman Arun Singh Dhumal has came up with reason behind shifting the IPL 2026 final from Bengaluru to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad despite Royal Challengers Bengaluru being the defending champions.

The decision had sparked massive discussions among fans after the BCCI officially announced Ahmedabad as the venue for the summit clash scheduled on May 31.

As per IPL norms, the defending champions usually get the hosting rights for the final in the following season, which meant Bengaluru was initially expected to stage the title clash this year.

However, the BCCI eventually decided to move the final to Ahmedabad, a move that also left the Karnataka State Cricket Association disappointed.

Arun Singh Dhumal explains why IPL 2026 final was shifted from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad

Speaking with PTI, Arun Singh Dhumal explained that multiple logistical and operational concerns played a major role behind the decision to move the final away from Bengaluru.

“See ideally it should have been Bengaluru. We checked up with KSCA. Because what happened last year, they had some challenges. State government needs to give free tickets to legislators and KSCA has some other commitments for their members,” Dhumal said.

He further highlighted the seating capacity issue at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium while also mentioning the ICC board meeting scheduled around the same time.

“Stadium capacity is also not that high. Very few tickets were available there for league games as well. Since IPL final attracts people from around the world, we need to have a larger inventory available for fans. We would have the ICC board meeting around that time too, a lot of members are coming for that.”

“Considering all, definitely we all thought a larger venue would be more appropriate. Keeping the convenience of fans as well as international guests coming in for ICC board meetings, we decided on Ahmedabad,” he added.

Chinnaswamy Stadium capacity and last year’s stampede among major concerns

One of the major reasons behind the shift was reportedly the seating capacity difference between the two venues.

The M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru can accommodate around 40,000 spectators while the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has a seating capacity of more than 1.3 lakh.

The horrific stampede incident during RCB’s title celebrations last year was also believed to be a significant factor during discussions over the venue selection.

Meanwhile, Dhumal also dismissed claims that Ahmedabad regularly hosting IPL finals was becoming a pattern and insisted the original plan was to conduct the final in Bengaluru.

“No, ideally the winning team gets the final but given the issues we touched upon, it becomes untenable to have it in Bengaluru. Let’s say if CSK won last season we would surely do it in Chennai,” Dhumal stated.

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