Written by Soham ShahNovember 24, 2025 01:27 PM IST 3 min readRajasthan Royals intends to shift its IPL home venue from Jaipur to Pune for multiple seasons, with the MCA confirming their willingness to host the franchise. (File)Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals has expressed intent to shift its home venue to Pune for multiple seasons, Maharashtra Cricket Association’s (MCA) honorary secretary Kamlesh Pisal confirmed to The Indian Express Monday.There have been rumours that Royals will move some home matches from Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur for the IPL 2026 season due to disagreements with the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA).Earlier this month, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) also showed interest in shifting their home venue to Pune, but the MCA Stadium will be allotted to Rajasthan Royals if its confirmation comes through first, said Pisal.He said a Royals team visited the MCA Stadium in Pune on November 18 for an inspection. “They have shown their willingness. And now the decision is with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), as we have also shown our willingness to allot the venue to Rajasthan Royals.”Pisal said the Royals have been showing their interest at the Pune stadium for a couple of seasons. “It seems more likely that they will take the venue,” he added.RCB is looking at Pune as its home venue (https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/most-ideal-location-pune-host-rcb-home-matches-ipl-10360882/) since the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru has been embroiled in controversy after a stampede on June 4 that led to the deaths of 11 people during the celebration of the team’s first-ever IPL win. The stadium was removed from the list of hosts for the recently concluded Women’s World Cup as well.Pisal said RCB is yet to confirm if it will move its home matches in IPL 2026 to Pune. “We asked RCB to confirm it, but they said they are not able to do so before the player auction.”Story continues below this ad“For them, there are two or three factors that prevent shifting the venue. There is significant public pressure on the government to host the games in Bengaluru itself. So, tomorrow the government might change its decision. So if we decide to go with RCB and then RCB turns their back, then it will be a problem for us,” added Pisal.The stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium led to the death of 11 people. Subsequently, a state committee found the venue “unsafe” for large-scale events.Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune. A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read MoreClick here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Indian Premier LeagueRCB