Less than two months remain for IPL 2026 and the tournament schedule is yet to be locked. One of the biggest speculations floating around is regarding Chennai Super Kings' home venues. The five-time IPL winners have Chepauk as their home base in Chennai. Historically, the venue and pitches have been their stronghold, so much so that the auction strategies have also revolved around the ground.
However, CSK are unlikely to play all their home matches of IPL 2026 in Chennai and reports are hinting at two alternatve venues that could be in contention. Thiruvananthapuram and Ranchi are the two venues that are likely to step in as CSK's secondary home venue for the season. With elections imminent in many states including Tamil Nadu, the scheduling will need to be revised.
Thiruvananthapuram has been a steady reserve venue for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in recent years. Also, with Sanju Samson now in the CSK camp, there will be additional mileage for the franchise to have the Kerala capital as an additional home venue. Samson's signing through a historic IPL trade has been made with an eye on the 31-year-old fan following in the country.
While Thiruvananthapuram remains a strong a candidate to become CSK's additional home venue, Ranchi is also understandably in the mix due to the undeniable MS Dhoni factor. Since IPL 2020, there has been annual speculations over Dhoni's retirement and while that hasn't materialised so far, 2026 could well be the end for 'Thala'.
If that is indeed the case, CSK and BCCI might opt to make Ranchi the secondary home venue for the franchise. All this will depend on the Tamil Nadu election dates and there could even be a scenario where both venues could host the games with Chepauk having minimal exposure. This, though, is an unlikely scenario.
