Months before the official start, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has found itself surrounded by a unique and unwanted situation between a franchise and its state cricket board. The parties in question are inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) and their home state cricket body, the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). Earlier, it was reported that the Rajasthan Royals had asked to shift their home venue from Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium to Pune’s MCA Stadium, citing infrastructure issues with the venue.
The RCA has written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with a request of its own to the apex body for cricket in India, asking it not to shift the franchise’s home venue. The association has assured that all necessary changes and upgrades will be completed in time before the start of IPL 2026.
No prior notice given by the franchise: RCA
The Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) has stated that the Jaipur based franchise provided no prior notice before reportedly commissioning a third-party assessment of the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The Rajasthan board also clarified that it was neither informed nor involved in the process, despite the stadium being a government-owned facility that falls under statutory regulation.
While acknowledging the importance of safety and infrastructure compliance, the board emphasised that any technical or structural evaluation must be conducted through the official regulatory framework and in coordination with the relevant authorities. The association reaffirmed that the Sawai Mansingh Stadium is structurally sound, operationally safe, and fully functional, citing its long record of hosting IPL matches for nearly 20 years, along with several domestic and international fixtures.
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No safety issues reported during VHT
The Rajasthan Cricketing body highlighted that Jaipur is currently hosting Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2026 matches, with multiple teams playing across the state. It noted that eight teams— Mumbai, Punjab, Maharashtra, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim—are competing in fixtures in Jaipur. The association underlined that recent VHT matches at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium drew large crowds without any safety or security incidents, citing approximately 20,000 spectators attending Mumbai’s VHT games featuring Rohit Sharma, reinforcing the venue’s readiness for high-profile events.
Speculation of fallout between RCA and RR
While RR have cited security issues at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium as their reason for demanding a venue shift, one popular opinion doing the rounds regarding the request made by the franchise to the BCCI relates to reports of a fallout between the RCA and RR. This followed match-fixing allegations made against RR by RCA ad-hoc committee convener Jaydeep Bihani after RR’s narrow defeats against Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants during IPL 2025, despite needing fewer than 10 runs in the final over in both matches.
RR refuted the claims, stating that the state board was disappointed due to a lack of ticket sales for the matches. Fast forward to 2026, the RCA authorities confirmed that they have barred the member who made the accusations against the franchise, while also calling the allegations false and baseless.
Poor home season in 2025
Apart from the above factors, another big reason behind RR’s request for a venue change could be their poor home record at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in 2025. They played a total of five matches at the venue, losing four and securing points in only one game. The Sawai Mansingh Stadium, which has historically been a bowler-friendly pitch, appeared to favour batters much more during the season. RR have assembled a strong bowling attack for IPL 2026, and playing five to six matches at a venue that renders one of their key strengths ineffective would be something the franchise would want to avoid, especially after finishing second last in IPL 2025.
MCA Stadium and IPL venue shift
If RR manage to shift their home base for IPL 2026 from Jaipur to Pune, it will not be the first instance of a franchise using the MCA Stadium as its base despite not being from the city. In 2018, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) shifted their home venue from the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai to the MCA Stadium due to ongoing protests in the city over the Cauvery water issue. Notably, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are also reportedly looking at a shift to the MCA Stadium if the M Chinnaswamy Stadium fails to get government clearance to host IPL 2026 matches, following the stampede last year that claimed the lives of 11 fans.
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