IPL 2026 fantasy picks opening week: quick-hit guide for 6-12 April
Here’s the IPL 2026 fantasy picks opening week sheet for 6-12 April: nine confirmed matches, two double-headers, and two afternoon starts that need the quickest lineup checks.
This is not a live score update. The season is still in its opening stretch relative to May 6, 2026, so this is a pre-match fantasy guide built for fast mobile reading before each game.
Use the fixture list below as a score-thread style reference: scan the slot, note the venue, and make your fantasy call without having to sift through separate previews.
Opening-week fixture list for fantasy picks
| Match No. | Date | Day | Time IST | Fixture | Venue | Fantasy note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 12 | 6 Apr 2026 | Mon | 7:30 PM | KKR vs PBKS | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | Opening-night fantasy read at Eden; a useful first check before the venue returns later in the week. |
| Match 13 | 7 Apr 2026 | Tue | 7:30 PM | RR vs MI | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur | Evening slot at Jaipur; gives you the first fantasy baseline for this ground before the next Jaipur game. |
| Match 14 | 8 Apr 2026 | Wed | 7:30 PM | DC vs GT | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi | Standalone night match, so fantasy decisions can focus on this one fixture without a second game on the same ground. |
| Match 15 | 9 Apr 2026 | Thu | 7:30 PM | KKR vs LSG | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | Second Eden outing of the week; compare this directly with Match 12 for your venue-based fantasy read. |
| Match 16 | 10 Apr 2026 | Fri | 7:30 PM | RR vs RCB | Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur | Second Jaipur night game of the week; the best same-ground comparison point after Match 13. |
| Match 17 | 11 Apr 2026 | Sat | 3:30 PM | PBKS vs SRH | IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali | First afternoon start in the window; treat it as a separate day-game fantasy call before the night fixture. |
| Match 18 | 11 Apr 2026 | Sat | 7:30 PM | CSK vs DC | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | Night half of the Saturday double-header, so build this as its own lineup decision rather than a carryover from the afternoon game. |
| Match 19 | 12 Apr 2026 | Sun | 3:30 PM | LSG vs GT | Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow | The second and final afternoon start of the week; one of the two fastest fantasy decisions in the window. |
| Match 20 | 12 Apr 2026 | 7:30 PM | MI vs RCB | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | Sunday night closer, and the second half of the double-header needs its own fresh fantasy check. |
Quick fantasy read for the opening week
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Prioritize the two 3:30 PM IST games first. The only afternoon starts are PBKS vs SRH on Sat Apr 11 and LSG vs GT on Sun Apr 12. Those are the two slots where a quick early call can shape the rest of your weekend lineup.
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Treat both double-header days as separate fantasy calls. On Apr 11, PBKS vs SRH and CSK vs DC should be handled independently. The same goes for Apr 12, where LSG vs GT and MI vs RCB need fresh decisions for each start time.
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Use Eden Gardens and Sawai Mansingh Stadium as your main comparison points. Eden Gardens stages KKR vs PBKS on Apr 6 and KKR vs LSG on Apr 9, while Sawai Mansingh Stadium stages RR vs MI on Apr 7 and RR vs RCB on Apr 10. Those repeat venues are the cleanest way to compare back-to-back fantasy reads.
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Keep night games simple and slot-driven. The rest of the week starts at 7:30 PM IST, so the main fantasy edge comes from timing and venue pairing, not from trying to build a full schedule narrative around each match.
This version stays team-and-venue focused because the published corpus does not support a safe player shortlist yet.