Indian Test team vice-captain KL Rahul has suffered a shock. After performing well for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, Rahul entered the Maharaja Trophy auction, where no team bid on him. Maharaja Trophy is organized by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

The Maharaja Trophy was earlier known as the Karnataka Premier League, but was renamed ‘Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20’ in 2022. The 2026 season will start from 20th June and the final will be played on 12th July.

KL Rahul remained unsold

KL Rahul had kept his base price at Rs 2 lakh in the auction, but none of the 6 teams bid on him in the opening round. This happened because due to the Indian cricket schedule, there were question marks over Rahul’s availability in the Maharaja Trophy. Team India has to play a lot of matches in the next 3 months and the franchises did not want to waste money on a player who had no guarantee of playing. KL Rahul scored 593 runs in 14 matches for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026.

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Many players including Padikkal and Manish Pandey were sold

KL Rahul may have remained unsold in the auction, but Devdutt Padikkal, Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Gopal and Karun Nair also found buyers.

A total of 6 teams will participate in the Maharaja Trophy, namely Kalyani Bengaluru Masters, Gulbarga Mystics, Shivamogga Yoddha, Mysore Warriors, Coastal Kings Mangaluru, Hubli Tigers. This will be the fifth edition of this tournament. So far, the Maharaja Trophy has been won once each by Gulberg Mystics, Hubli Tigers, Mysore Warriors and Mangaluru Dragons. Bengaluru Blasters reached the finals twice, but could not win the title.

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The final of IPL 2026 will be played on 31 May at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. BCCI has officially announced the schedule of the playoffs. In its statement, the board said that Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium was earlier chosen for the venue of the final, but why did they shift it to Ahmedabad.

The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League has now reached an exciting turn, every match is important from the point of view of playoffs. Narendra Modi Stadium is the home ground of Gujarat Titans, 3 finals have been played here in the last 4 years and now this season the fourth final will be held at this venue. With the announcement of the schedule, BCCI clearly said that they had chosen Bengaluru to host the final, but due to some unnecessary demands they had to change the venue.

Why was the hosting snatched from RCB? What did BCCI tell?

The board said, “Bengaluru was selected to host the final. However, due to certain requirements of the local association and officials, which were outside the scope of the BCCI guidelines and protocols, this venue has been changed and another venue has been decided.”

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In some reports, quoting sources, it was said that due to the ongoing dispute regarding the sale and demand of tickets, the hosting of the final was snatched from RCB’s home ground. Let us tell you that before the start of the season, it was said that MLAs are public representatives and they should get at least 5 tickets, why should they stand in line for tickets? Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had also said that MLAs and MPs will be given 3 tickets each for RCB matches.

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Although BCCI did not say anything clearly regarding the demand for tickets, but in its statement it said that the local association and officials had some requirements which were beyond the scope of BCCI guidelines and protocols. Because of this the venue of the IPL 2026 final was changed.

IPL 2026 playoff schedule

Qualifier-1 will be held on May 26 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. The eliminator match will be held on 27th May in New Chandigarh (Mullanpur). Qualifier-2 will be held on 29th May in New Chandigarh itself. The final will be played on May 31 at Narendra Modi Stadium.

IPL 2026, RCB: Before IPL 2026, great news has come for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The Karnataka Government has given permission to Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to hold IPL 2026 matches at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Let us tell you that the first match of the upcoming season on the ground of Bengaluru will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 28.

KSCA secretary Santosh Menon confirmed the development to Cricbuzz, saying that the expert committee, which followed an inspection and a mock demonstration on March 13, was satisfied with the infrastructural changes made at the venue. The committee informed this to the Karnataka government, after which the State Cricket Association was given permission to organize IPL matches at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Decision taken in meeting with Home Minister

“We are happy to inform that a meeting was held this morning at Vidhana Soudha with the Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of Karnataka Home Minister, Dr. G. Parameshwara and representatives of KSCA, RCB and DNA. During the meeting, the Expert Committee presented its report outlining the preparations and compliance measures taken at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium,” the state cricket association said in a release.

The release further said, “Based on the recommendations of the expert committee and after a thorough review of the arrangements, the Home Minister has formally given approval for hosting the upcoming IPL matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.”

Problems increased due to stampede

It is noteworthy that RCB had won the title in the last season i.e. 2025 IPL. After this, a victory parade was held in Bengaluru, in which 11 people lost their lives and many were injured due to a stampede outside the stadium. After this, the matches of 2026 T20 World Cup also had to be shifted from Bengaluru to another place. But now the stadium has got permission to organize matches.

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