Indian Premier League: 2026 Regular Season Recap + Playoff Preview
- Om Brown
- 6 hours ago
- 15 min read
Welcome back to my coverage of the TATA Indian Premier League! The IPL is widely viewed as the most competitive, chaotic and entertaining domestic cricket league in the world, boasting the best Indian talent as well as top international players. It's a short season with 10 squads playing just 14 matches each over a 2-month span, ensuring each season is a mad dash to the championship!
We are done with this season’s tournament and ready for the playoffs! In this latest season check-in, I'll compare the final standings to my preseason predictions, discuss some early offseason plans, analyze some leaderboards, and preview this year's playoffs!
For those of you who haven’t checked out my first piece covering the IPL, as well as a breakdown of the basic rules of cricket and the IPL’s format, click here. For my midseason report, click here.
Here are some stats terms that will be good to know:
1. Half Century (or 50) - When a batter scores 50 runs in a match.
2. Century (or 100) - When a batter scores 100 runs in a match.
3. Strike Rate - The number of runs a batter scores for every 100 balls they face (140+ is good).
4. Economy - The runs per over a bowler allows.
5. Powerplay - The first 6 overs when only 2 fielders are allowed out by the boundaries.
6. Death Overs - Overs 16-20. Batters try to swing for the fences, bowlers try to take wickets.
7. “Impact” - This is ESPNCricinfo’s advanced metric to determine a player’s impact on a game.
Some Offseason Notes:
In terms of the offseason, it's important to note that the IPL doesn’t have free agency. Teams release or retain players based on their season salary. The released players head to the auction and are sold to the highest bidding team. The 2027 auction is a “Mini-Auction,” where teams have no limit on the number of players to retain. The next “Mega-Auction” is set for before the 2028 year, where teams can only retain up to 6 players. Mega-Auctions happen every 3-4 years. The last one was before the 2025 season.
The Orange and Purple cap awards do take playoffs into account. While I will list both awards in this piece, it will not reflect what the actual awards will look like at the end of the tournament.
Note: All stats, results, and leaderboards are as of 10pm EST on May 24th
Final Check-In:
1. Mumbai Indians: Title Challengers, or Season-long Strugglers?:
Place: 9th, 4-10
Captain: Hardik Pandya, All-Rounder
Offseason Outlook: Who will lead the charge in 2027?
Team MVP: Ryan Rickelton, Wicket-Keeper Batter, South Africa
MI was not right at all this season. They had a plethora of big names like legendary batter Rohit Sharma, Indian T20 captain Surya Kumar Yadav, one of the best bowling duos of the 2020’s in Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult, and Hardik, who won the IPL as captain of GT in 2022. It was confusing for me to see the Indians struggle this badly as they came into the year as favorites alongside RCB for the title, but ended up finishing at the bottom of the table.
Batting-wise, they could never find consistency. Ryan Rickelton had a nice year as an opener with 448 runs, including a 123 not out performance, which is why he is my team MVP. However, Rohit struggled with a hamstring injury in the middle of the tournament, which limited his production at the top of the lineup. Surya had a tough season, watching his runs go from 717 in 2025 to just 270 in 2026. The biggest struggle, however, was the skipper. Hardik missed games due to injury, and the team went 2-2 without him. He couldn’t provide much impact with the bat, with just 202 runs, and he took only 4 wickets as a bowler.
The bowling attack wasn’t great either. Despite being touted as one of the best, if not the best all format bowler in the world, Bumrah claimed just 4 wickets in the tournament. Boult was even worse, taking just 2 and getting left out of the playing XI multiple times, showing his age.
Overall, it was a season to forget for the Indians, and they ended 2026 with more questions than answers, especially when it comes to naming a new captain. Hardik has struggled as a leader in his three seasons at the helm of MI after two finals appearances with the Titans. There are two obvious in-house options for a leadership change, which are Surya and Bumrah, both of whom filled in as captain this year. I don’t know who will lead MI in 2027, but it is clear that they need a new captain. They have a good team, but I just don’t think the game-plans and messages were getting through the way Hardik wanted.
2. Can RCB Defend Their Maiden Title?:
Place: 1st, 9-5
Capitan: Rajat Patidar
Playoff Outlook: Qualifier 1 vs. RCB (5/26)
Team MVP: Bhuvenshewar Kumar, Bowler
RCB clinched the top spot in the league a season after their first title, and are primed to repeat as champs. They finished 9-5 and will play in Qualifier 1 vs. GT on 5/26. Captain Rajat Patidar has his squad firing on all cylinders.
Fast bowler Bhuvenshwar Kumar is tied for 1st in the Purple Cap with 24 wickets. Bhuvi also has a great bowling economy of 8.07. He is my team MVP because of his impact in the powerplay and death overs. Behind him in the fast bowling department is Australian Josh Hazelwood, who has 12 wickets in 11 games. The duo will be a hard one to go against in the playoffs. All-Rounder Krunal Pandya holds down the spin department with 11 wickets of his own.
Cricket icon Virat Kohli has held down the batting side of things by scoring 557 runs, good for 9th in the Orange Cap, including a stunning 105 not out, while Devdutt Padikkal had 433. Patidar was 3rd on the team with 393 runs. Englishman and opener with Kohli to start the season, Phil Salt, is likely to return to the team for the playoffs after getting treatment on a finger injury back in England. He was off to a hot start, scoring 202 runs in 6 matches prior to getting hurt. If he is in form, the opening partnership will be deadly.
As for their match against GT, I think it is quite even. Both teams have experienced batters, good captains, and fearsome bowling attacks led by the Purple Cap leaders (Kagiso Rabada for GT). However, Patidar has had his squad playing well throughout the whole year, while Gujarat had a slower start. It will be very tough for me to pick a winner for Q1, and the two teams could very well end up facing each other again in the final, but you’ll have to keep reading for that. RCB has the talent to win a second championship in as many years. However, they will need to keep the ball rolling and have Kohli and Salt build the innings well while opening to put pressure on the opposing bowlers. To me, the pair is the X-Factor to any of the Royal Challengers' playoff matches.
Around the League:
Note: This will not include MI or RCB.
Team: Gujarat Titans
Place: 2nd, 9-5
Captain: Shubman Gill, Batter
Playoff Outlook: Qualifier 1 vs. RCB (5/26)
Team MVP: Shubman Gill, Batter
Gujarat was in 5th place at 6-4 during the midseason check in, and rode the hot bats of Sai Sudharsan (638 runs) and captain Shubman Gill (616 runs), finishing 1st and 2nd in the Orange Cap. Gill is my team MVP due to his OC finish as well as his great captaincy. On the bowling side of things, Kagiso Rabada finished with 24 wickets (T-1st in PC), Rashid Khan took 19 (T-3rd in PC) Mohammad Siraj claimed 3 of his 17 during a dominant spell to eliminate CSK in their final match. The Titans look primed for a big playoff run, and they certainly have the experience. GT won it all in 2022 during their first year as a franchise and were runner ups on ‘23.
As for Q1 against RCB, the two teams haven’t faced each other in more than a month. They split their season series 1-1,both games early in the tournament on 4/24 and 4/30, respectively. Both teams won their games by chasing, and both did it with relative ease. GT were quicker, knocking down a target of 156 in 15.5 overs with 8 wickets in hand, whereas RCB hit their total of 206 in 18.5 overs, with 5 wickets left. Both teams are led by smart captains, have a powerful lineup, and a good bowling attack. This is about as even as a matchup as can be. I see Gujarat winning if Gill and Sudharsan can be destructive at the top of the order.
Team: Sunrisers Hyderabad
Place: 3rd, 9-5
Captain: Pat Cummins, Bowler, Australia
Playoff Outlook: Eliminator Match vs. RR (5/27)
Team MVP: Henrich Klassen, Batter, South Africa
SRH rode a dominant trio of Henrich Klaasen (606 runs), Ishan Kishan (569 runs), and Abhishek Sharma (563 runs), who finished 3rd, 6th and 7th in the Orange Cap, respectively. Aussie Travis Head also had some dominant innings opening with Abishek. Klaasen is my team MVP because of his ability to stabilize the middle order while putting up massive numbers in the middle overs, which led to big totals as a batting group. Cummins returned midseason from a back injury and stabilized a talented bowling unit that was headlined by Eshan Malinga, who took 19 wickets en route to tie for 3rd in the Purple Cap. Overall, SRH has come together at the right time, and look like a force to be reckoned with.
SRH should win the Eliminator against RR, but that doesn’t mean they will. Like they have all season, they will rely on their batting, which has been great in most games. SRH put up a 200+ score a league leading 9 times. Abhishek and Head have been quality openers while Ishan and Klaasen have been great at accelerating the total in the middle overs. If the Sunrisers open, I think they can suffocate RR immediately with a high total. If they bowl first, I am still confident in Cummins, Malinga, and company to force the Royals to a low total for Hyderabad's bats to chase.
Team: Rajasthan Royals
Place: 4th, 8-6
Captain: Riyan Parag, All-Rounder
Playoff Outlook: Eliminator Match vs. SRH (5/27)
Team MVP: Vaibhav Sooyavanshi, Batter
The Royals started out 4-0, finished 3-6, but edged out the Punjab Kings to make that last spot in the playoffs. Sooyavanshi, a 15-year-old (yes, you read that right), was a monster at the top of the order, scoring 579 runs 5th in the Orange Cap with a high score of 103. He also had the most total impact at 731.2. He was the clear choice for me for team MVP. That is nuts. What were you doing at 15? His future is extremely bright. Wicket-Keeper Dhruv Jurel had a nice season as well with 458 runs scored. On the bowling side of things, Englishman Jofra Archer had a big season with 21, T-2nd in the Purple Cap. He holds down the Royals’ bowlers with a great economy of 8.88. Archer will need to have a big Eliminator match for RR.
SRH is a tough opponent because of their batting strengths, and their bowling attack is good as well. RR will have a tough time winning this game, but I do think there is a way. If they start out batting, Sooryavanshi and Yashavi Jaiswal will have to hit hard in the powerplay and put Rajasthan on track for 220+ runs. If they bowl first, Archer and the rest of the bowlers will have to claim Abishek and Head’s wickets early, and put pressure on SRH from the first ball.
It’ll be tough, but it isn’t impossible.
Team: Punjab Kings
Place: 5th, 7-6 (1 washout vs. KKR due to rain)
Captain: Shreyas Iyer, Batter
Offseason Outlook: I honestly don’t know
Team MVP: Shreyas Iyer, Batter
I don’t even know where to start with this team. PBKS won their first 6 games (with a washout vs. KKR due to rain), then lost their next 6 before beating LSG in their last game to finish 7-6. However, due to RR's better head-to-head record against Punjab, RR snuck into the playoffs. The Kings were the runner-up in 2025 and in first place for most of ‘26, but will miss the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion. Prabhsimran Singh had a good year as an opener, scoring 510 runs, finishing 10th in the Orange Cap. Shreyas is my team MVP for his exceptional leadership and captaincy, at least in the first half of the year.
I honestly don’t know what the Kings will do in the offseason. With 2027’s auction being a mini, I would expect the team to stay mostly intact. It’s not like the Kings have no talent, because they certainly do. Their leadership under Shreyas and coach Ricky Ponting is a proven tandem that has seen success together, both in Punjab and with Delhi. If I had to guess, PBKS will probably swap a couple players out depending on salaries, and then try to run it back and hope that the team that finished second in 2025 and came out to a roaring start this year is still in there somewhere.
Team: Delhi Capitals
Place: 6th, 7-7
Captain: Axar Patel, All-Rounder
Offseason Outlook: How to bolster bowling attack?
Team MVP: KL Rahul, Wicket-Keeper Batter
DC was always around the playoffs, but never really in true contention. Rahul was my team MVP, finishing 4th in the Purple Cap with 593 runs. Patel and Lugnisani Ngidi lead the team with 10 wickets each. However, fast bowler Mitchell Starc only played in 6 matches due to injury, but he took 9 wickets in the games he did play.
Overall, the Capitals had some quality players this year and had some big games, like when Rahul scored 152 off 67 balls not out, the 3rd highest score in IPL history, vs. the Punjab Kings. However, they were very volatile, like when they went for just 13 runs and 6 wickets inside the powerplay vs. RCB. The main culprit of their struggles was their lack of bowling. Of course, not having Starc hurt, but I think if DC wants to contend in 2027, they will need to form a much better and much more reliable bowling unit.
Team: Kolkata Knight Riders
Place: 7th, 6-7 (1 washout vs. PBKS due to rain)
Captain: Ajinkya Rahane, Batter
Offseason Outlook: Who will the team build around?
Team MVP: Sunil Narine, Bowler
KKR’s season was doomed after starting 0-5. While they climbed out of that hole, it was too little, too late for them. My team MVP was the ageless wonder, 38-year-old Narine. He had a ridiculous 6.65, best in the league. Overall, the Knight Riders had some games where they looked like world beaters, especially when Kiwi opener Finn Allen was on. He had the 3rd best strike rate with 214.11, and had a big century with 100 vs. DC and an impressive 93 off of just 35 balls vs GT down the stretch. However, he ran too cold too often, helping kill momentum for the team.
While Rahane is a good batter and good captain, his style of play doesn’t really match up with today’s T20 game. He is a slower batter who likes to ease in, which is good for Test, ODI and T20 in its early days, but now that just won’t fly. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he has his captaincy taken away, while the team built around either Rinku Singh (the vice-captain) or Australian All-Rounder Cameron Green. Both have aggressive, explosive styles of play that align with the new age of T20 much better than Rahane.
Team: Chennai Super Kings
Place: 8th, 6-8
Captain: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Batter
Offseason Outlook: Who will lead the charge?
Team MVP: Anshul Kamboj, Bowler
CSK had an up and down season with injuries ultimately dragging them down. Living legend of the game, 44-year old MS Dhoni, didn’t play due to calf and thumb aliments, while fast bowler Jamie Overton, a key cog of the team, missed the final games due to a right thigh injury. Wicket-keeper and 2026 T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament, Sanju Samson, was 10th in the Orange Cap with 477 runs and 7th in Batting Impact, at 552.8. Fast bowler Anshul Kamboj got 21 wickets, good for T-2nd in the Purple Cap, making him my team MVP.
Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad had an up-and-down season, with more downs than ups. Opening at the top was Samson, who had 337 runs, much less than the 583 in 2024 (his last full season). The 5-time champion Super Kings have missed the playoffs for the third straight campaign since their 2023 title win. Gaikwad has been their skipper for all three (though Dhoni filled in for him in 2025 for 9 matches due to Gaikwad’s injury). Samson was RR’s captain for 5 seasons, leading them to a second place finish in 2022 and the playoffs in ‘24, and also has most wins as a leader for the franchise. With Samson being the better T20 player, will CSK make a change for 2027 as they look to get back to their winning ways?
Team: Lucknow Super Giants
Place: 10th, 4-10
Captain: Rishabh Pant, Wicket-Keeper Batter
Offseason Outlook: What will their 4 overseas slots look like?
Team MVP: Mitchell Marsh, Batter, Australia
My hometown team had a rough season, enduring a brutal 6 game losing streak in the middle of the tournament that sealed their fate at the bottom of the table. Mitchell Marsh was one of just two bright spots on this squad. Marsh on a rampage at the end of the season, scoring 111, 90, and 96 runs in 3 of the last 4 matches he played in. Marsh was my team MVP because of the late-season onslaught, which led him to 563 runs, T-7th in the Orange Cap, and the 3rd best batting impact in the tournament at 581.02. The other bright spot was bowler Prince Yadav taking 16 wickets and getting picked for India’s ODI squad for this summer. Captain Rishabh Pant had a tough season, both as a batter and leader. He is on the hot seat this offseason and may be relieved of his captaincy.
LSG’s big question this offseason will be tied to roster construction. Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, and Josh Inglis are all overseas batters. You can only have 4 overseas players in the playing XI per IPL rules. Using all 4 on batters creates a top heavy batting order that lacks depth in the middle. Marsh was terrific this year, and when Inglis returned late in the season after his wedding, he smashed a trio of 50’s in just 5 games played. Markram and Pooran, however, struggled. Markram saw his average drop from 34.23 (with 5 half-centuries) in 2025 to 25.67 (with no half-centuries) in 2026. Pooran’s drop-off was even worse, seeing his average and strike rate go from 43.67 and 196.25 to a putrid 18 and 127.87. Pooran has an expensive price tag of ₹21 Crore ($2.5 million) whereas Markram has a tag of just ₹2 Crore. I could see Nicky P getting released at the Mini-Auction to free up cash and an overseas slot.
Orange Cap Leaderboard:
1. Sai Sudharsan, 638 runs - GT
2. Shubman Gill, 616 runs - GT
3. Henrich Klaasen, 606 runs, SRH, (South Africa)
4. KL Rahul*, 593 runs, DC
5. Vaibhav Sooyavanshi, 583, RR
6. Ishan Kishan, 569, SRH
T-7. Abhishek Sharma, 563, SRH
T-7. Michell Marsh*, 563, LSG, (Australia)
9. Virat Kohli, 557, RCB
10. Prabhsimran Singh*, 510, PBKS
Note: The asterisk means the player’s team is eliminated from the playoffs
Purple Cap Leaderboard:
T-1. Bhuveneshwar Kumar, 24, RCB
T-1. Kaigso Rabada, 24, GT, (South Africa)
T-2. Jofra Archer, 21, RR, (England)
T-2. Anshul Kamboj*, 21, CSK
T-3. Rashid Khan, 19, GT, (Afghanistan)
T-3. Eshan Malinga, 19, SRH, (Sri Lanka)
7. Kartik Tyagi*, 18, KKR
8. Mohammad Siraj, 17, GT
9. Prince Yadav*, 16, LSG
10. Sunil Narine*, 15, KKR, (West Indies)
Note: An asterisk means the player’s team is eliminated from the playoffs
Playoff Predictions:
Qualifier 1: RCB vs. GT (Tuesday 5/26, 7:30pm IST, 10:00am ET):
The matchup between the two best teams in the league, the two highest wicket-takers in the tournament, and a spot in the finals on the line. I am excited for this one! I love RCB’s team makeup, but Phil Salt hasn’t played since midseason and Virat Kohli had some sluggish games down the stretch, while GT has the top-2 Orange Cap players in Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill as their openers. I am more confident in the Titans’ ability to put pressure on the Royal Challengers no matter if they are opening or chasing.
Winner: Gujarat Titans (to play in Final)
Loser: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (to play in Qualifier 2)
Eliminator Match: SRH vs. RR (Wednesday 5/27, 7:30pm IST, 10:00am EST):
I am not going to over-explain my thoughts on this. SRH has dominant batting with 3 of the top-10 in the Orange Cap in Henrich Klassen, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma. Give me the Sunrisers in a dominant victory.
Winner: Sunrisers Hyderabad (to play in Qualifier 2)
Loser: Rajasthan Royals (eliminated)
Qualifier 2: RCB vs. SRH (Friday 5/29, 7:30pm IST, 10:00am EST):
I like SRH more on paper. However, in such a grueling tournament, in the hot Indian summer, rest and travel play a big part in a team’s fitness. Games in the league stage are typically given anywhere from 2-5 days off. SRH will get just one day off, while RCB will get a pair of days in between matches. That is a huge factor and history backs this up. For 15 years the IPL has used this playoff format and just 3 times has the winner of the eliminator match made the final, and just 1 time has that team won the final, which was actually SRH in 2016. However, I am not picking against history. Give me RCB to advance to defend their title.
Winner: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (to play in Final)
Loser: Sunrisers Hyderabad (eliminated)
Final: GT vs. RCB (Sunday 5/31, 7:30pm IST, 10:00am EST):
In a rematch of Qualifier 1, played in Ahmedabad at Narendra Modi Stadium, the biggest cricket venue in India, the home of the Gujarat Titans, give me RCB to win. The loser of Qualifier 1 has won the final just twice, in 2013 and in 2017, both being the Mumbai Indians, but I believe that this can happen again. Phil Salt and Virat Kohli get a couple of games to sync back together at the top of the lineup, and captain Rajat Patidar has been in the final just last season. This is key experience in my opinion, especially in what would be such a hostile environment.
GT won the final in 2022, but lost it in 2023, a game that was played in Ahmedabad as well. Shubman Gill was not the captain of the team at that time, and while he is an experienced international captain, he hasn’t played a game of this magnitude as skipper in the IPL. I like a more experienced team in RCB to repeat as champs in this rematch.
Winner: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Champions)
Loser: Gujarat Titans (Runner-Ups)
Final Thoughts:
The IPL was great in 2026, and I expect the chaos to continue in the playoffs as well. Enjoy the playoffs, and check back in with me next tournament! I hope my American audience learned some new things about cricket, while I hope my international audience got caught up on the nitty-gritty details of how IPL shaped up in 2026! See you next season!
If you want better highlights of matches, team breakdowns, and anything else IPL related, go to the league website, or ESPNcricinfo.
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