IPL 2026: Four teams for playoffs confirmed; Qualifier 1 on May 26

After 69 thrilling matches, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 finally has its top four teams as defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Gujarat Titans (GT), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will battle it out in the playoffs to crown the 2026 champions.

 

The playoffs will start with RCB taking on GT in Qualifier 1 in Dharamsala on May 26, before SRH and RR clash in the Eliminator on May 27 in Mullanpur.

 

The final of the season will be played on Sunday, May 31, at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

IPL 2026 playoffs: Teams qualified

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
• Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
• Gujarat Titans (GT)
• Rajasthan Royals (RR)

IPL 2026 playoffs: Teams eliminated

• Mumbai Indians (MI)
• Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
• Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
• Delhi Capitals (DC)
• Punjab Kings (PBKS)
• Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

IPL 2026 playoffs: Venues

• Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala (Qualifier 1)
• Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur (Eliminator and Qualifier 2)
• Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad (Final)

IPL 2026 playoffs: Format

According to the IPL playoffs rules, the top two teams on the points table will face each other in Qualifier 1. The winner will go to the final, while the losing side will move to Qualifier 2.

 

 

Teams finishing third and fourth will play the Eliminator. The winner will play in Qualifier 2, while the losing side will be eliminated.

 

The winners of Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2 will then play the final to crown the champions. 

IPL 2026 playoffs: Full schedule

Date	Match	Teams	Venue
Tue, May 26 2026	Qualifier 1	RCB vs GT	Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
Wed, May 27 2026	Eliminator	SRH vs RR	Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur
Fri, May 29 2026	Qualifier 2	TBC vs TBC	Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur
Sun, May 31 2026	Final	TBC vs TBC	Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

IPL 2026 playoffs: Full squads of qualified teams

RCB squad for IPL 2026: Rajat Patidar (C), Tim David, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Nuwan Thushara, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal

 

SRH squad for IPL 2026: Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Smaran Ravichandran, Aniket Verma, Abhishek Sharma, Brydon Carse, Harsh Dubey, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (C), Jaydev Unadkat, Harshal Patel, Zeeshan Ansari, Salil Arora, Praful Hinge, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Mavi, David Payne, Amit Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Eshan Malinga, Krains Fuletra

 

GT squad for IPL 2026: Shubman Gill (C), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Manav Suthar, Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kumar Kushagra, Ishant Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Jayant Yadav, Luke Wood, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma, Connor Esterhuizen, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore

 

RR squad for IPL 2026: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag (C), Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Sandeep Sharma, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Adam Milne, Kuldeep Sen, Dasun Shanaka, Shubham Dubey, Ravi Singh, Brijesh Sharma