RCB Champions Again
Final · May 31, 2026Royal Challengers Bengaluru defended their maiden title, beating Gujarat Titans by 5 wickets in the final at Ahmedabad — back-to-back championships under Rajat Patidar.
📅 155/8 vs 161/5 · AhmedabadRoyal Challengers Bengaluru are back-to-back champions after lifting the 2026 trophy. Now the league resets: the IPL 2027 mini auction (expected December 2026) will redraw every squad, and the 20th IPL season follows in spring 2027.
Counting to the expected IPL 2027 auction window (Dec 2026) — official dates TBC by the league.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru defended their maiden title, beating Gujarat Titans by 5 wickets in the final at Ahmedabad — back-to-back championships under Rajat Patidar.
📅 155/8 vs 161/5 · AhmedabadRajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Sooryavanshi piled up 776 runs at a strike rate of 237 with 72 sixes — an IPL record — and swept five individual awards as the season MVP.
📊 776 runs · SR 237 · 72 sixesGujarat Titans' pace spearhead took 29 wickets in 17 matches to claim his second Purple Cap, leading the charts ahead of RCB's Bhuvneshwar Kumar (28).
📊 29 wickets · 17 matchesWankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The league's joint-most successful franchise — five titles built on big-match nerve (2013-2020).
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Five-time champions and the IPL's most consistent outfit — finals in 12 of the first 19 seasons.
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The long wait ended in 2025, and the title was defended in 2026 — Kohli finally lifted the trophy twice.
Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Three-time champions who went record shopping at the Dec 2025 mini auction — Green & Pathirana for Rs 43 crore.
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Champions on debut in 2022, and finalists again in 2023 and 2026 — the league's model modern franchise.
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. The inaugural 2008 champions — the 2026 season belonged to their teenage record-breaker Sooryavanshi.
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. 2016 champions famed for fearless, high-scoring batting. (*Ishan Kishan stood in during 2026.)
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Runners-up in 2020 — the trophy is still the missing piece for one of the league's most talented squads.
IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali. Runners-up in 2014 and 2025 — twice heartbreakingly close, still hunting the first crown.
Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. The big spenders — splashed a then-record Rs 27 crore on Pant at the 2024 mega auction.
Captains are as of the 2026 season and can change after the 2027 auction — this page refreshes when squads are rebuilt.
Teams bid for players from a fixed purse, building squads of up to 25 players (max 8 overseas). A mini auction fills a limited number of slots — Right-to-Match cards let teams buy back their own released players by matching the winning bid.
The 2026 mini auction put 77 slots under the hammer from a 359-player pool, with a combined franchise purse of Rs 237.55 crore. KKR (Rs 64.30 crore purse) and CSK dominated the evening's bidding.
Cameron Green — Rs 25.20 Cr, KKR (record overseas buy) · Matheesha Pathirana — Rs 18 Cr, KKR · Kartik Sharma & Prashant Veer — Rs 14.20 Cr each, CSK (most expensive uncapped buys ever) · Liam Livingstone — Rs 13 Cr, SRH.
The league's official broadcaster list is published at iplt20.com. In India, IPL auctions air on Star Sports and stream on JioHotstar — the full day is televised live with ball-by-ball bidding analysis.
Dates marked TBC are expectations until the league announces the official schedule — the page updates automatically once confirmed.
The top two teams meet with a direct ticket to the Final on the line. The winner is through; the loser gets a second chance in Qualifier 2.
Knockout cricket: the winner stays alive for Qualifier 2, and the loser's season ends on the spot. No second chances here.
The loser of Qualifier 1 faces the Eliminator winner. One more win books the remaining Final berth against the Qualifier 1 winner.
A full IPL season has 74 matches — 70 league games (14 per team, 2 points per win, net run rate breaks ties) followed by these 4 playoff battles.
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Rajasthan Royals | Chennai Super Kings | 3 wickets |
| 2009 | Deccan Chargers | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 6 runs |
| 2010 | Chennai Super Kings | Mumbai Indians | 22 runs |
| 2011 | Chennai Super Kings | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 58 runs |
| 2012 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Chennai Super Kings | 5 wickets |
| 2013 | Mumbai Indians | Chennai Super Kings | 23 runs |
| 2014 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Punjab Kings | 3 wickets |
| 2015 | Mumbai Indians | Chennai Super Kings | 41 runs |
| 2016 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 8 runs |
| 2017 | Mumbai Indians | Rising Pune Supergiant | 1 run |
| 2018 | Chennai Super Kings | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 8 wickets |
| 2019 | Mumbai Indians | Chennai Super Kings | 1 run |
| 2020 | Mumbai Indians | Delhi Capitals | 5 wickets |
| 2021 | Chennai Super Kings | Kolkata Knight Riders | 27 runs |
| 2022 | Gujarat Titans | Rajasthan Royals | 7 wickets |
| 2023 | Chennai Super Kings | Gujarat Titans | 5 wickets (DLS) |
| 2024 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 8 wickets |
| 2025 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Punjab Kings | 6 runs |
| 2026 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Gujarat Titans | 5 wickets |
IPL 2027 is expected to run from late March to late May 2027, in the usual IPL window. The BCCI announces the official fixture list a few months before the season — this page counts down once dates are confirmed.
The IPL 2027 mini auction is expected in December 2026. The previous mini auction was held on December 16, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, where 77 slots were filled from a 359-player pool. Official dates, purse sizes and slot counts are announced by the IPL governing council closer to the event.
Ten teams: Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kolkata Knight Riders, Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants.
The top 4 teams after the 70 league matches qualify. Qualifier 1 is 1st vs 2nd — the winner goes straight to the Final. The Eliminator is 3rd vs 4th — the loser is out. The loser of Qualifier 1 then meets the Eliminator winner in Qualifier 2 for the second Final spot.
Each team plays 14 league matches. A full IPL season has 74 matches in total: 70 league games plus 4 playoff matches — Qualifier 1, the Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and the Final.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are tied with 5 titles each — the most of any franchise. Kolkata Knight Riders have 3. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026, while Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad have 1 title each.
The Orange Cap goes to the season's highest run-scorer and the Purple Cap to the highest wicket-taker. In 2026, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals won the Orange Cap with a record 776 runs, and Kagiso Rabada of Gujarat Titans won the Purple Cap with 29 wickets.
A Right-to-Match card lets a franchise buy back one of its own released players at the auction. When another team wins the bidding, the player's original franchise can invoke its RTM to match the winning price and re-sign the player.
At the IPL 2026 mini auction (December 16, 2025, Abu Dhabi), Cameron Green was the costliest buy at Rs 25.20 crore (Kolkata Knight Riders), followed by Matheesha Pathirana at Rs 18 crore (KKR). Chennai Super Kings paid Rs 14.20 crore each for uncapped stars Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer — the most expensive uncapped buys in IPL history.
The IPL's official broadcaster list is published at iplt20.com. In India, recent seasons have aired on Star Sports (TV) and streamed on JioHotstar. Broadcast partners are confirmed by the league ahead of each season.
Season facts on this page are compiled from the league's official announcements and match records. Dates marked "expected" are projections until the BCCI confirms the schedule — check iplt20.com for the latest official updates.