The BCCI has officially released the schedule for IPL season 19, which will begin on March 28 with a clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

The Punjab Kings lost to RCB in the final match which ended Season 18 because RCB had waited a long time to win their first trophy. The original 2008 season teams still compete in the league but Delhi Capitals and PBKS have not yet achieved the status of championship winners. 

The team reached the final match of the 2020 season but lost to the Mumbai Indians. The team achieved four top four finishes in addition to their single final match appearance. The team started the previous season with strong performances that resulted in early victories but they eventually entered a losing streak which caused them to finish fifth place and miss the playoff spots.

The team will launch their 2026 season schedule by facing the Lucknow Super Giants on April 1 at their home stadium in Lucknow. The Capitals will compete in their complete schedule throughout this current season.

The tournament starts for Delhi with their first match against Lucknow at Lucknow Stadium on April 1. Their first home game will be against the five-time champions, Mumbai Indians, on April 4 in an afternoon fixture. The league has released its schedule for the first phase of the competition which includes 20 matches. The Delhi Capitals will compete in four matches during this time frame.

The Capitals entered their new cycle with the goal to achieve their first championship victory and they expanded their team when they spent big during the 2025 season mega auction. Axar Patel who won the T20 World Cup became the new captain after Rishabh Pant went to the auction and signed with the Lucknow Super Giants.

The franchise used the IPL 2026 mini-auction to build upon their existing balanced team which would help them achieve their goal of reaching the playoffs. The team brought in South African players who had recently excelled at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup together with Tristan Stubbs to increase their team experience.

Also Read | India’s T20 World Cup 2026 Victory Ends Shubman Gill’s Captaincy Hopes

The IPL team selected Pathum Nissanka from Sri Lanka and Ben Duckett from England to take over for Faf du Plessis after he announced his retirement. Prithvi Shaw made his return to the league after he went unsold in the previous season. New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson who played the 2025 final with PBKS joined as a base-price signing to provide backup for Mitchell Starc.

The Capitals made their largest acquisition by signing Auqib Nabi who became their most expensive player. The young player attracted strong interest after Delhi Capitals acquired him for ₹8.4 crore which exceeded his base price of ₹30 lakh. The young bowler now has a major chance to impress selectors and push his case for the Indian team.

The squad lost three key players when Faf du Plessis Jake Fraser-McGurk and Mohit Sharma left the team. Sediqullah Atal was also released, while Donavan Ferreria returned to Rajasthan Royals through a trade deal.

Axar Patel, Nitish Rana, Abishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Sameer Rizvi, T Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Mukesh Kumar, David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Sahil Parikh, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamieson.