Mumbai Indians (MI) have denied Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) the No Objection Certificate (NOC) which prevents the defending champions from using DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai as their temporary IPL 2026 home. IPL regulations require teams to obtain permission from the local franchise when they want to play home matches in cities which already have an IPL team. MI possesses territorial rights over both Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium because both stadiums exist within Mumbai territory. MI management believed RCB had not explored sufficient options. The franchise believes allowing RCB to use DY Patil could create problems in the future. According to a source: "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 centres in the country.” The source further added: "There are established centres 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 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 centres and only interested in DY Patil." Also Read | IPL 2026 RAPP Pool: Smith, Bairstow Among 1,307 Unsold Players Still Available Why RCB Are Looking Beyond Bengaluru The search for a new venue follows RCB's experience of a deadly stampede at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium which occurred during the team's title celebrations in June 2025. The incident resulted in 11 deaths which created major safety issues. The franchise is reportedly not ready to return to the stadium until major safety upgrades, suggested by the Justice D'Cunha committee, are completed. The Karnataka government has provided conditional approval but RCB remains dissatisfied because they need to control operations at the stadium perimeter. RCB plans to divide their home games for the upcoming season after DY Patil became unavailable as a venue. Raipur is expected to host two matches at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium. Indore which has now become the primary venue will host the remaining five matches. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) continues to seek permission for their return to Bengaluru. The stadium will undergo its final inspection later this week. The defending champions must modify their strategies because IPL 2026 will start in the upcoming months.