Looking back on IPL 2026

The latest edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) concluded on May 31 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) emerging as the deserving winners.

They were on a roll during this championship,  outclassing opponents with ease and exhibiting a level of confidence displayed only by champion sides. They were the first side to qualify for the play-offs and then went on to win the first qualifier easily, thus booking a place in the finals.

Despite having the advantage of playing before a supportive home crowd, Gujarat Titans, (GT), their opponent in the finals, went down tamely, lacking the firepower required to put up even a decent fight. Virat Kohli sealed the win with a towering sixer, demonstrating yet again that he still features amongst the best batsmen in the world.

The year 2026 is  an extra special one for cricket in that this is the year when this sport becomes one of the officially featured medal sports in Asian Games. The 20th edition of the Asiad, scheduled otherwise be held at Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture of  Japan will feature cricket as one of the 43 disciplines.

Both men’s and women’s T20 tournaments will be played as part of these Games, which will be held during September and October 2026. Since IPL is now acknowledged as the premier cricket tournament in the country in T20 format, it will be interesting to select a playing eleven to represent the country in the Asiad, based solely on the performances of players in this tournament.

Incidentally, the practice of selecting members of the national contingent based on selection trials conducted in the period immediately preceding the Olympics is resorted to by USA, where only the athletes who finish at the first thee places win selection.

In India also, till the 1970’s, the national cricket selection committee used to select the team for away series in Australia and West Indies based on performances in Duleep Trophy championships, held immediately prior to the squad leaving on such tours. The following exercise is carried out with the sole purpose of identifying the players likely to make it to the squad if selection is done based only on the form displayed in IPL.

It can be stated without an iota of doubt that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the star during the latest edition of  IPL. The 15-year-old, who made his debut in this championship in 2025 broke a slew of records to emerge as the top rungetter this year. The progress of his side Rajasthan Royals (RR) through the various stages of the tournament was fashioned by Sooryavanshi, who took it upon himself to destroy attacks without showing any mercy on the bowlers.

The array of outstanding innings played by this teenage sensation prompted critics to compare him with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Observers of the game, including experts like Sunil Gavaskar, have gone on record stating that he is ready to be inducted into the national side, despite his tender age. Hence he becomes an automatic selection for the slot of an opening batsman.

Given the obsession of the media - print, visual and social - and millions of cricket fans in the country over the success of this remarkable youngster, it was not surprising that performances of similar majesty and splendour by other batsmen went relatively unnoticed. The high-voltage performance by Shubman Gill, captain of the Gujarat Titans (GT) team in IPL, stands as a case in point.

Gill has enjoyed tremendous success in IPL, winning the Orange Cap in 2023 when he scored 890 runs in 17 matches, which also made him the second-highest run scorer in a single season in this championship. He finished second behind Sai Sudarshan in the race for this award in 2025 and proved his mettle yet again during the current edition when he compiled a total of 732 runs, at an average of 45.75 and a strike rate of 163.02. The selectors and team management who took the call to drop him from the national side for International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup held just a couple months ago will be sporting red faces after seeing Gill in action during the current IPL season.

Sai Sudarshan continued from where he left off in the last season and ended up with a tally of 722 runs, which makes him the third-highest runscorer this year. Despite two unfortunate hit-wicket dismissals in the playoff stage, he retained his prolificacy with the willow.

He also appears to have wiped away the disappointment of not doing well in test matches during the tour to England in 2025. He deserves another chance, both in red ball as well as the limited-overs version of the game. The only competitor for him will be Abhishek Sharma, who scored 563 runs at a strike rate of 204.72. If current form is the sole criterion, Sudarshan should win the nod but Abhishek’s capacity to plunder runs in the power play cannot be overlooked. Kohli is not considered given the fact that he retired from the world of T20 Internationals.

Rajat Patidar was a surprise choice for leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), after Faf du Plessis stepped down from this post at the end of the 2024 season. When RCB won the title for the first time in 2025, most observers attributed the success to Patidar bringing in the much-needed dose of good fortune rather than giving credit to his leadership skills. But he proved the pundits wrong by coming out with a standout performance during this edition scoring 501 runs at a strike rate close to 200.

His ability to maintain the pace of scoring during the middle overs and accelerate towards the end was a factor that helped RCB to post high scores. Hence, he deserves the place for his efforts. The only player who can mount a challenge for this spot is Shreyas Iyer, who was also in excellent form with the bat and scored 498 runs. 

Amongst the wicket keepers, both Ishan Kishen and KL Rahul performed well with the bat, as did Sanju Samson and Prabhsimran Singh, though on a lower key.  However, all of them opened the innings, unlike Dhruv Jurel who made his runs while batting in the middle order. Jurel also displayed a high amount of maturity in pacing the innings after the initial fireworks of Sooryavanshi, besides being a very tidy performer behind the stumps. So, in the greater interest of finding the right balance of the side, Jurel wins the nod.

When it comes to all rounders, it does not surprise many that Ravindra Jadeja is still amongst the best performers in IPL. Since he has retired from T20 Internationals, one is forced to look beyond him. The search for the spin bowling all rounder will end with Krunal Pandya, who has been a silent performer for RCB, whether in coming up with a cameo or bowling a couple of tidy overs in a tense situation. Though age works against him, the fact that he is able to withstand the physical and mental pressures of playing all the matches in IPL shows that he is fit enough to get a place in the national side.

Nitish Kumar Reddy had a tidy season with 302 runs and 8 wickets, thus getting over the disappointment of his insipid show during 2025. He has the ability to come good during demanding circumstances as well. Shivam Dube, his only competitor for this slot, did not bowl in many matches, thus leaving Reddy the only choice for this slot.

On the bowling front, Bhuvaneswar Kumar was undoubtedly the best Indian bowler on view and played a big role in RCB’s success in the championship. His exemplary control over line and length and ability to trouble the batsmen on wickets offering even the slightest amount of help to seam bowlers was in full display during this championship. Though his advancing age goes against him, on current form he looks the perfect bowler to open the attack in the shortest version of the game.

Amongst the numerous contenders for partnering Bhuvaneswar, Mohamed Siraj with 18 wickets under his belt looks the best option. Siraj also bore the additional stress of being the spearhead of GT. His wide experience in all versions of the game plus ability to run through even reputed batting orders when in form tilts the scales in his favour ahead of others.

The third seamer’s spot is a toss up between Prince Yadav, Rasikh Dar and Prasidh Krishna, all of who bowled exceedingly well. Since the performance of all of them were at similar levels, one succumbs to the temptation to go with Rasikh, who had displayed more skills as a supporting medium pacer. Moreover, his Kashmiri origins works to his advantage as does the temptation to make up for the injustice meted out to Aaquib Nabi by the national selectors.

This leaves the last slot in the playing eleven, which is usually earmarked for a specialist spinner. Unfortunately, one did not see any outstanding local spin bowling talent in this season of IPL. Yuzvendra Chahal finished with 12 wickets, while Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel picked up 11 each and Kuldeep Yadav had a tally of 10. Washington Sundar did not bowl in many matches and hence there was a near complete absence of Indian off spinners in this championship. Amongst the above lot of four, Axar wins the preference, based on his better abilities as a batsman and fielder.

Thus my playing eleven based solely on performances during this year’s IPL will be as follows

1) Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
2) Shubman Gill (Captain)
3) Sai Sudarshan
4) Rajat Patidar
5) Dhruv Jurel (wicket keeper)
6) Nitish Kumar Reddy
7) Axar Patel
8) Krunal Pandya
9) Bhuvaneswar Kumar
10) Rasikh Dar
11) Mohamed Siraj

Reserves
1) Abhilash Sharma
2) Shreyas Iyer
3) Varun Chakravarthy

As in any selection process, it is the list of those excluded that throws more surprises than the ones who win the nod. Many cricketers who played a huge role in India winning the ICC T20 World Cup only a few months back had a poor IPL season and hence fail to come into the reckoning for this selection, where performance in this championship is the sole criterion.

This list includes seasoned campaigners as Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav (SKY), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube, all of who went through a bad patch. It is not in doubt that Bumrah, SKY and Hardik are champion performers who contributed substantially to India’s title triumphs in 2024 and 2026. They are still at the peak of their prowess and one hopes that they recover their form quickly and make their way back to the national side.