India, May 9 -- In a trend seen in recent years, the IPL 2026 final will not be staged by the home venue of the defending champions. This week, the May 31 finale was moved from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad. This has led to speculation that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has shown favoritism on various counts including political ones. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, however, rejected those charges.

No politics

"At the outset, let me make it clear, there is no politics in the allotment of IPL playoff matches," he told HT. "BCCI is an apolitical organization. We have nothing to do with who is running which state government. We follow our own set protocols. But when a state government wants 900 tickets for the MLA, MLCs and 700 a...