Wisden’s IPL 2026 team of the tournament

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – RR

M: 16 | 776 runs at 48.50, SR 237.70, HS: 103, 1 hundred, 5 fifties

The best IPL season a batter has ever had. No bowler was spared. Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rashid Khan, among many others, were all sent to every corner of the ground by the 15-year-old. He finished with consecutive 90s in the playoffs, both of completely different nature – a 29-ball 97 against SRH, all within eight overs of the innings, and a patiently-built (by his standards) 96 off 47 against GT when he found little support from other batters.

Abhishek Sharma – SRH

M: 15 | 563 runs at 40.21, SR 204.72, HS: 135*, 1 hundred, 4 fifties

Only Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored more runs at a better strike rate than Abhishek; that the two could open together for India very soon should ring the alarm bells for bowling attacks around the world. Abhishek started the season brilliantly, with three fifties, a hundred and two scores in 40s in the first nine matches. His best of 135* against DC saw him smack 10 fours and as many maximums.

Ishan Kishan – SRH

M: 15 | 602 runs at 40.13, SR 182.42, HS: 91, 6 fifties | Ct: 9, St: 1

After a tremendous SMAT and T20 World Cup, Ishan Kishan lit up the IPL as well and enjoyed his best-ever season in the competition, by far. His previous best was 516 runs in the 2020 season, but those were scored at 145.7. This year, Kishan went at 182.42, finishing the league stage with 70 and 79 in crucial encounters and then a whirlwind 11-ball 33 against RR in the Eliminator, when only for a short while, it seemed like he would set SRH on course for a win.

Rajat Patidar – RCB

M: 15 | 501 runs at 41.75, SR 192.69, HS: 93*, 5 fifties

Patidar has put himself in discussions for the next India T20I captain with a fantastic season for RCB. He started the season in fine fashion but underwent a mini slump, before coming into his own as the playoffs approached. A 31-ball 61 almost took RCB to victory in a rain-affected game in Lucknow before all hell broke loose in Qualifier 1 as he smacked 93 runs in 33 balls.

Heinrich Klaasen – SRH

M: 15 | 624 runs at 48.00, SR 160, HS: 69, 6 fifties

Klaasen, too, had his best-ever IPL season, scoring consistently throughout the campaign. He got into double digits in all the matches, and maintained the momentum that his top three, more often than not, provided. He also became the first batter to score more than 600 runs in any T20 tournament while batting at No.4 or lower. Against RCB in their final league game, he started slowly to be on five off nine, but raced to a 23-ball fifty, scoring 46 off 14.

Krunal Pandya – RCB

M: 16 | 226 runs at 37.66, SR 145.8, HS: 73 | 14 wickets at 30.35, Ec 8.41, BBI: 2-16

Pandya bowled RCB to their maiden title in 2025 with a player-of-the-match performance in the final, finishing with 17 wickets. This time, he bagged 14, and also consistently contributed with the bat. Against his former side MI, in a small chase of 167, he scored a crucial 73 runs batting at No.5. He was sent up the order again against SRH and GT, scoring 41* and 43, respectively. His finishing abilities were on show when he slammed a quickfire 23 off 12 to take RCB home in a 206-run chase against GT in the league stage.

Nitish Kumar Reddy – SRH

M: 14 | 302 runs at 30.20, SR 171.59, HS: 56 | 8 wickets at 40.37, Ec 10.41, BBI: 2-17

After a lean run with the national side, Nitish Kumar Reddy finally enjoyed an all-round IPL season. He took eight wickets on top of the 302 runs he scored at a strike-rate of over 170 while largely batting at No.5 or below in a top-heavy batting lineup. He also bowled with the new ball, with a best of 2-17 against KKR. Reddy also registered a 2-31 against CSK, when he dismissed both Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre.

Sunil Narine – KKR

M: 13 | 15 wickets at 22.60, Ec 6.64, BBI: 2-26

Narine finished as the most economical bowler in the competition, going at just 6.64 in 51 overs bowled, while also taking 15 wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the only other bowler, ahead of the final, to have sent in more than 300 deliveries and gone at eight per over or fewer. His best of 2-26 came against a dangerous RR batting lineup, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Donovan Ferreira falling to him.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – RCB

M: 16 | 28 wickets at 17.89, Ec 7.95, BBI: 4-23

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had yet another remarkable season for RCB, but far outdid his efforts from last term when he had taken 17 wickets in 14 games. This time, he finished with 28 scalps while conceding runs at under eight runs per over and registering six three-fors, the joint-most in a single edition. Against MI, he bowled a devastating opening spell to have Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav dismissed in two overs, eventually finishing with 4-23. He registered 3-5 against DC, who were reduced to 6-8 at one point in the game.

Jofra Archer – RR

M: 16 | 25 wickets at 22.36, Ec 9.31, BBI: 3-17

Archer was at his devastating best this season, bowling consistently around the 150kph mark and outfoxing batters with his pace for fun. He finished the season with 25 wickets, five more than his previous best tally of 20 from the 2020 season. His best came against MI, when he registered 3-17 to break their back in a 206-run chase. He just pipped Kagiso Rabada to take this spot in Wisden's team of the tournament.

Eshan Malinga – SRH

M: 15 | 20 wickets at 25.35, Ec 9.33, BBI: 4-32

The Sri Lanka quick takes the last overseas spot in this team. He was brilliant in the middle overs for SRH, taking crucial wickets during one of the most important phases of the game, and often taking out the opponents’ hard-hitters. His tally of 20 wickets is seven more than what he achieved last season, with a best of 4-32 coming against DC in the league stage.

Rasikh Dar – RCB

M: 12 | 19 wickets at 21.31, Ec 9.45, BBI: 4-24

Rasikh missed the first four matches of the season due to injury, but returned strongly to take 1-23 in his first game, against MI, and 4-24 in his second, against LSG. After a couple of wicketless games, he picked up at least one wicket in every match up until the final, where he picked up 3-27, the best figures by an RCB bowler on the big night. Overall, he finished as the joint-seventh highest wicket-taker of the season, and the highest among uncapped bowlers.