IPL 2026 will start on March 28. Here are Wisden’s power rankings for the 2026 Indian Premier League.
(overseas players are underlined)
10. Rajasthan Royals
Predicted first XII: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira (if fit, otherwise Lhuan-dre Pretorius), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande
RR’s abysmal show at the 2025 auction had led to a predictably ordinary season. In 2026, they seem to have sorted some of that: they now have at least two all-rounders, and their bowling is no longer dependent on overseas bowlers. Yet, the batting firepower seems to fade out as it progresses (Jadeja is not really a T20 finisher anymore) – so they will be left between using Hetmyer in that role or promoting him to his newfound comfort zone at No.3. If it is the former, Nandre Burger may replace Ferreira (or Pretorius).
Read: Five uncapped players to watch out for in IPL 2026
9. Lucknow Super Giants
Predicted first XII: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Digvesh Rathi
The LSG top four (or even five) can compete with the best in IPL 2026, but it thins out a bit thereafter. On paper, Shami, Mayank, and Avesh (and Mohsin Khan) are a fantastic attack, but all three are injury-prone, as is Hasaranga. If their bowlers remain fit and perform to full potential, LSG have the ability to go big … but these “ifs” often determine the performance of a team at the IPL.
Read: IPL 2026 – how to buy tickets online and offline
8. Chennai Super Kings
Predicted first XII: Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Prashant Veer, MS Dhoni (wk), Noor Ahmad, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Matt Henry, Akeal Hosein, Khaleel Ahmed.
CSK made sweeping changes to their line-up, which means they now have a top six featuring five Indians. The troika of Mhatre, Veer, and Kartik Sharma (who is unlikely to start for a side whose batters seldom bowl) may take another season to fully come to their elements at this level, but the combination will enable them to go in with two good Chepauk-friendly spinners and a fast bowler of Henry’s calibre – all of whom are overseas. Unfortunately, Dhoni’s gradual slide down the batting order effectively strips them of a batter, as a result of which they may have to consider Jamie Overton for Henry.
Read: IPL 2026 – full fixtures of first phase
7. Sunrisers Hyderabad
Predicted first XII: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (c & wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Salil Arora, Brydon Carse, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi, Jaydev Unadkat.
No Pat Cummins for SRH in the early phase of IPL, and Carse, Mavi, and Unadkat (or Zeeshan Ansari) are at best a decent pace attack. They also lack a quality spinner, and have to choose between the left-arm finger spin (and considerable domestic experience) of Harsh Dubey, and the left-arm wrist spin of Krains Fultera and Shivang (whose batting may boost his case). Can their terrifying batting unit hit 250 often enough to make their bowling weakness redundant?
6. Kolkata Knight Riders
Predicted first XII: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Varun Chakravarthy.
KKR had an excellent auction – but things have gone downhill for them since then. Left without Mustafizur Rahman, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep, and (for now) Matheesha Pathirana, their bowling looks depressingly thin. Their best bet lies in hoping their batting firepower makes up for it and for that they need to pick every power hitter they have at their disposal (which is a lot). Unfortunately, this also means Narine’s batting will remain unutilised (unless they become radical enough to open with him despite having their New Zealand pair).
5. Gujarat Titans
Predicted first XII: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Banton, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
GT’s biggest problem will be accommodating both Rabada and Jason Holder in the playing XI (picking both and leaving out Banton will weaken the batting, though Banton or Buttler can be switched for Glenn Phillips). They have more than their share of strike bowlers (again, both Holder and Rabada fit the bill), but barring Rashid, each of them have gone for runs on flat tracks. Their other problem is a thin middle order: can the top three pull off an encore of 2025?
4. Delhi Capitals
Predicted first XII: Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul (wk), Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), David Miller, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan
Had Mitchell Starc been available from the start, DC would have been higher on the power rankings, but as of now they have to settle for a fourth place. Their two spinners were part of the world champion squad, Shaw’s stint with Maharashtra seems to have done him good and Rahul is experienced enough to adjust to the changing role of the IPL opener. Until Starc returns, they can go in with their three South Africans as their only overseas players while looking for a replacement for Ben Duckett.
3. Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Predicted first XII: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Jacob Duffy, Mangesh Yadav.
Without Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal, RCB have little option but to pick Duffy – and even then the pace attack looks thin. If they do that and pick Shepherd for his bowling, it will mean leaving out one of Salt, David, and Jacob Bethell. This is something that Hazlewood’s return or Devdutt Padikkal’s selection will not solve. Nevertheless, RCB look strong enough to defend their title, though a lot of that will hinge on the Australian's return.
2. Punjab Kings
Predicted first XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Punjab look as formidable as the last season. Without any major injury, they have the three components needed by a champion unit: an explosive top order, all-rounders who can hit and bowl two to four overs, and a couple of world-class bowlers. They can leave out Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, and Ben Dwarshuis, all of whom might have made it to the first XII of some other teams. Mind you, Lockie Ferguson is going to join them later this season.
1. Mumbai Indians
Predicted first XII: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya (c), Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Mayank Markande, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
Just as well-rounded as Punjab, MI’s core of experienced Indian cricketers (eight T20 World Cups between five players) gives them the edge. If one has to nitpick, it will be the lack of an Indian spinner good enough to be a must-pick in the playing XII, which may hurt them in some venues – though Santner should be more than a handful. That aside, this side has the ability to surpass their third-place finish in 2025.
