New Delhi, March 28 -- The highly awaited IPL 2026 is set to kick start today amid controversy over Indian Premier League 2026 season opener free tickets for MLAs. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru amid much displeasure among fans who called out 'VIP culture'.

Social media strongly reacted after Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that two free tickets, instead of 4, will be provided to MLAs, so that the family members of legislators attend IPL 2026 first match.

A user wrote, "Karnataka politicians (MLAs/MPs) asking for around ~1000 overall free IPL tickets for their families. and all this openly on camera. Meanwhile, common fan...