According to the reports, the Mumbai Indians (MI) have rejected Royal Challengers Bangalore’s request to host their IPL 2026 matches at the DY Patil Stadium. After the tragic 2025 Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede, RCB began searching for a new home venue for the upcoming season. The franchise reportedly approached the Mumbai Indians for permission to host their matches at the DY Patil Stadium. However, MI declined the request, stating that there are plenty of stadiums across India that RCB can consider instead of DY Patil.
MI Rejects RCB’s Request to Host IPL 2026 Matches at DY Patil Stadium
According to the Times of India, the Mumbai Indians have rejected the request of RCB to play their home matches at DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai. Notably, the MI’s home ground, Wankhede Stadium, is now away from DY Patil, and RCB needs the MI’s permission to make DY Patil their new home. However, MI clearly rejected the request, saying that there are plenty of stadiums in India to choose from, so why only DY Patil?
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“If a franchise wants to establish a home base not far from the home of another franchise, it needs clearance to go ahead. It is the same catchment area. Wankhede and DY Patil are not far apart. If a franchise wants to set up a base at DY Patil, it cannot happen without approval from the one operating out of Wankhede. MI reasoned, ‘Why only DY Patil and not any other stadium in the country? There are plenty. MI is of the opinion that RCB must exhaust other options before coming to DY Patil. There are so many non-IPL centers in the country,” a source claimed.”
“There are established centers like Rajkot, Pune, Raipur, Vizag, and Indore. The current situation is simple: if MI says yes to DY Patil, then tomorrow some other team can come and express a desire to host their matches at Brabourne. It kills the sanctity of home territories. And there needs to be a strong reasoning in place why RCB is not ready to play at these centers and only interested in DY Patil,” the source added.
So now it's almost clear that the RCB will have to look for other options. Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Cricket Association is reportedly in talks with the Karnataka Government for the M Chinnaswamy Stadium for the RCB home matches.
