The IPL 2026 league stage is over, with six teams now eliminated. Here’s looking at the unsung heroes from the teams that couldn’t make the playoffs.
Punjab Kings – Cooper Connolly
Signed for INR 3 crore, Connolly was worth every penny that Punjab Kings paid for him. In his maiden IPL season, he scored 491 runs at 44.63, with a strike-rate of 163.12. Tasked with maintaining the momentum batting at No.3, Connolly often walked out earlier than he hoped, and in one such knock, he slammed a 59-ball 107 against the Sunrisers in a steep chase. He started the campaign in style too, hitting a match-winning 44-ball 72 against Lucknow to be named the player of the match.
Delhi Capitals – KL Rahul
A revamped approach helped KL Rahul enjoy his best-ever IPL season in terms of strike-rate, not too long after he felt that the metric was overrated. The wicketkeeper-batter struck at 174.41, scoring 593 runs with a top score of 152* off 67 balls, and was the league stage’s fourth-highest run-getter. He finished the season with back-to-back fifties in winning cause, even as Delhi finished sixth.
Kolkata Knight Riders – Kartik Tyagi
Returning to the IPL after missing the last campaign, Tyagi had his best-ever season by quite a margin. He had taken nine wickets in IPL 2020, but doubled that number this term and was the seventh-highest wicket-taker in the league stage, striking mostly in the middle overs. His dismissals included the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav, among others, while his best of 3-22 came against Rajasthan.
Chennai Super Kings – Sanju Samson
Samson came into the tournament on the back of a superb T20 World Cup, but leading a new-look CSK batting lineup was quite a task in itself. And Samson passed with flying colours. He was their top run-getter by quite a margin, aggregating 477 runs at a strike-rate of 165.62, with two hundreds and an 87* under his belt.
Mumbai Indians – Allah Ghazanfar
Fresh from a World Cup win, MI’s core, featuring some of the best Indian T20 players, underperformed massively as they finished ninth. From Jasprit Bumrah to Suryakumar Yadav to Hardik Pandya, the five-time champions had a season to forget. But Afghanistan mystery spinner Allah Ghazanfar had an impactful debut IPL campaign, finishing as their top wicket-taker with 15 scalps in 11 matches, and a best of 2-17. The highlight of his season was two-in-two against Sunrisers Hyderabad, when he dismissed Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan off consecutive balls.
Lucknow Super Giants – Mitchell Marsh
A second consecutive 500-plus season for Marsh, even as Lucknow’s struggles continued. On top of a match-winning 111* against RCB, he finished the season with back-to-back 90s, aggregating a total of 563 runs at a strike-rate of 163.18. Rishabh Pant was LSG’s second-highest scorer of the season with 312 runs, more than 250 fewer than Marsh, highlighting how he was a one-man army for the team that finished bottom of the table.
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