The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 schedule, which will begin on February 07 and will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka at eight different venues across both nations. In the curtain raiser of the event, Pakistan will lock horns with the Netherlands at the SSC Stadium in Colombo.

A total of 20 teams are part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which are divided into four groups, and each of these groups has five teams. The Indian Men’s National Cricket team will now feature in their opening fixture against the United States of America (USA) on February 07 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

See Also: Watch: "No energy left..."- Rohit Sharma recalls turnaround from 2023 ODI World Cup to 2024 T20 World Cup

The mouth-watering clash of the tournament between the two arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, will happen on February 15, 2026, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India, which won the event’s previous edition in 2024 under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, will be looking to lift their third title.

India's Schedule - ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Squad, Captain, Match List, Players List - India Men’s National Cricket Team

There are several strong teams, including Australia, South Africa, and England, who will give a tough fight to India, who are part of Group A in the competition alongside Pakistan, the United States of America (USA), the Netherlands, and Namibia. All of India’s group-stage games will take place in the evening, which makes dew a massive factor in the second innings. 

India’s schedule of T20 World Cup 2026

India squad for T20 World Cup 2026 

India will be led by Suryakumar Yadav in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. His form has been a decent concern for the management in the shortest format of 2025, with his average down to just a touch over 20. He is yet to celebrate a single half-century in the format this year with the bat.

For the squad, India has decided to go with three formidable openers- Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan, as the last two players can also keep wickets. Tilak Varma is expected to be slotted at number three, with Sky coming down at number four.

No one expected the selectors to omit Shubman Gill from the squad, despite the right-handed batter yet to celebrate a single fifty in 2025. Even in the recent home series against the Proteas at home, he returned with low scores before missing the fifth T20I in Ahmedabad, which saw the management opting for Saju Samson, who was fantastic in that rare chance.

“It’s unfortunate to have missed out on the last World Cup as well because we went with different combinations. But it's the combinations more than anything else. Someone has to miss out when you pick 15, and unfortunately, it's Gill at this point.” Ajit Agarkar expressed in the press conference.

Instead of Gill, the selectors decided to give a chance to Ishan Kishan, who was impressive with the bat at a strike rate of over 200 for his 500+ run season in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025/26, leading the Jharkhand side to the title.

In place of Gill, India hand over the vice-captaincy to Axar Patel, the spin all-rounder. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are the two premier pacers of the side, along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Harshit Rana remains the back-up fast bowler of the event. In the spin department, they picked both their premier wrist-spinners- Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav.

Despite not being part of South Africa, Rinku Singh returns for the T20 World Cup 2026, which provides them a new combination to shuffle between Rinku and Washington Sundar.

India’s squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

The 15-member Indian squad has been announced for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, where the defending champions India will also play as the co-hosts along with Sri Lanka, which will run from February 7 to March 8, 2026. Here, we will know the strongest playing XI for Team India for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. 

In the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, India can make history in three ways: as they can be the first team to defend the title, win the title at home, and be the first team to win the trophy for the third time. Under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian T20I team is firing, as the Men in Blues have set the fearless examples. 

See Also: Why is Shubman Gill dropped from India's T20 World Cup 2026 squad?

Possible Indian playing XI for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026

Despite a few shocking inclusions/exclusions for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, most of the positions are already sorted. Abhishek Sharma will have the opening partner Sanju Samson, who returned to the playing XI during the last game of the five-match home T20I series against South Africa and impressed as an opener. 

Versatile and in-form Tilak Varma can handle the no.3 batting role, while struggling skipper Suryakumar Yadav can choose the no.4 batting order.

The middle-order batting powers have the names of Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube. 

While Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah will take the pace-bowling responsibilities, Kuldeep Yadav and the no.1 T20I bowler Varun Chakaravarthy will take the spin-bowling responsibilities. 

Meanwhile, all-rounder Washington Sundar can also be in the battle for the playing XI, as he can replace Kuldeep Yadav, if India want to make the batting line-up longer. 

Team India's strongest playing XI for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026

Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav/Washington Sundar

After a long time, Punjab Kings (PBKS) got it right in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting, as they ended as the runners-up of the campaign, losing the final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Punjab hopes to continue the same success mantra in the 2026 season.

One of the biggest reasons for the success of the franchise was their opening batter, Priyansh Arya, who smashed 475 runs in 17 innings at an average of 27.94 and a strike rate of 179.24 with the help of two half-centuries and one century at the best score of 103. He hopes to showcase another such edition with the bat.

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Their captain, Shreyas Iyer, was equally excellent with the bat in the middle order of the side as they cracked 604 runs in 17 innings of the competition at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07, scoring six half-centuries at the best score of undefeated 97 runs.

Punjab Kings’ strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Punjab didn’t lift its paddle in the first five hours of the auction. They didn’t actually have any gap in the squad, apart from Josh Inglis, whom they left out, given he won’t be available for more than four games of the season due to his wedding. They also needed some injury placements, which they completed in the bidding war.

Punjab Kings full squad for IPL 2026

Harnoor Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Shreyas Iyer, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ben Dwarshuis, Cooper Connolly, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Owen, Musheer Khan, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Vishal Nishad, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur.

In the opening pair, the Kings won’t need to think much over Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, who drilled 549 runs in 17 innings of the last IPL at an average of 32.29 and a strike rate of 160.52 with the help of four half-centuries at the best score of 91. At number three, they will have Shreyas, followed by Nehal Wadhera at four.

Mitchell Owen can now straightaway come into the eleven at number five and blast the big shots he has been known for. But as his replacement, the franchise also signed the young and aggressive Australian batter, Cooper Connolly, who can also provide a few overs of left-arm spin.

In the middle order, the toss-up will be between Marcus Stoinis and Azmatullah Omarzai, where the latter is likely to get his place in the eleven. The Afghanistan star bowled really well in the last season and added some vital runs with the bat whenever required, and may look to continue the same in the 2026 campaign.

Shashank Singh can end up being at number seven as their impact player, having bailed them out on many occasions in the tournament. Marco Jansen has developed his skills with the bat and ball and can prove to be handy with the new ball and later in the death overs. Arshdeep Singh brings the left-arm angle into the game, while the rocket pace of Lockie Ferguson. Ben Dwarshuis could be his replacement.

And last but not least, Yuzvendra Chahal, who has a new career with the Punjab Kings, as he earned so much success in the IPL 2025.

PBKS strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk.), Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis/Azmatullah Omarzai, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson/Ben Dwarshuis.

Impact player: Yuzvendra Chahal.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) didn’t enjoy their last season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they finished at the penultimate position of the points table with four wins in 10 clashes at a net run rate of -0.549. From the beginning of the campaign, they didn’t get their wicket-keeper opening batter and captain, Sanju Samson, and had to make changes in the eleven.

However, the Royals made a massive move before the auction, which saw them trade in their former spin all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), along with Sam Curran. Both of them are quite guaranteed to be in their starting XI.

See Also: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Riyan Parag can now be the full-time leader of the franchise in the absence of Samson. But it can also come down to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who will be up for the leadership role, having a long future across formats for the Indian side. This added responsibility will also help him grow his caliber for the national side.

Rajasthan Royals’ strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Rajasthan made the massive buy of the Indian spinner, Ravi Bishnoi, for a price of INR 7.20 crore, as they anyway needed replacements for both Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana. They can now remain assured of the eight overs from Ravindra Jadeja and Bishnoi in the middle overs.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) full squad for IPL 2026

Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aman Rao, Dhruv Jurel, Ravi Singh, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Riyan Parag, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Raj Punja, Vignesh Puthur, Jofra Archer, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Sushant Mishra, Adam Milne, Kuldeep Sen, Brijesh Sharma.

There is no doubt for the franchise opening with their two southpaws – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The latter drilled 252 runs in seven innings of the IPL 2025 at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 206.55 with the help of one fifty and one century to his name. He has also now become more mature with time.

Jaiswal will hope to continue the same success of the last season when he smashed 559 runs in 14 innings at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 160 with the help of six half-centuries at the best score of 75. At number three, they can keep Lhuan-dre-Pretorious and follow it with Riyan Parag.

The minor issue could be having three left-handed batters in the top order. However, that doesn’t make a massive difference in the shortest format of the game. Another southpaw, Shimron Hetmyer, walks at number six for the franchise, just after the wicket-keeper batter, Dhruv Jurel.

Jadeja and Curran mean the Royals have got special players at number seven and eight. The latter can be a fine option in the middle overs and death, using his slower deliveries to fox the bowlers. Meanwhile, they hope for a far better performance from the Indian pacers- including Sandeep Sharma, who continues to impress in the IPL even with the growing age.

They will also have Tushar Deshpande in the eleven, along with Jofra Archer and Ravi Bishnoi. They don’t have the backup of Jurel, which will be tricky at times. In place of Archer, who would need to be rested in the middle of the event, the franchise can use Adam Milne with the new ball or bring Nandre Burger’s left-arm pace.

RR’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Lhuan-dre-Pretorious, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk.), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande.

Impact player: Sandeep Sharma.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) perhaps had the most ordinary season after winning the title in the previous edition. They didn’t have stars in the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) by finishing at the eighth position of the points table with five wins in 14 games at a net run rate of -0.305.

For a big part of the season, Kolkata had a problem with their captain, Ajinkya Rahane, who didn’t perform as expected. That was the issue they faced in getting the balance of the combination, besides getting the worst performance from their star pace bowling all-rounder, Venkatesh Iyer, who was signed for a massive price of INR 23.75 crore last year.

See Also: “Not in our mind but…”- Shreyas Iyer drops shocking statement on this player’s signing in IPL 2026 auction

Kolkata also won’t have the services of their long-time servant, Andre Russell, for the next season, as the premier all-rounder of the West Indies side announced his retirement from the league. That pushed them to get a star and a young all-rounder in the team, along with the death overs specialist.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Kolkata, who went into the auction with the biggest purse, signed the star Australian all-rounder, Cameron Green, for a massive price of INR 25.20 crore, as he is going to fill the void left by Russell’s move to the coaching staff. They also went after Matheesha Pathirana and picked him for a whopping price of INR 18 crore.

Full KKR squad ahead of IPL 2026

Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Rahul Tripathi, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Dahiya, Tim Seifert, Anukul Roy, Cameron Green, Daksh Kamra, Ramandeep Singh, Rachin Ravindra, Sarthak Ranjan, Sunil Narine, Prashant Solanki, Varun Chakravarthy, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Kartik Tyagi, Matheesha Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora.

Kolkata is likely to open with Rahana and one of Tim Seifert or Finn Allen, who will also go through the wicket-keeping role of the eleven. The former is likely to get the chance, given his recent heroics where he smashed a fine century in the ongoing BBL 2025/26 for the Melbourne Renegades. However, Allen isn’t a bad option either at the opening spot.

At number three, the Knight Riders will have Angkrish Raghuvanshi in the side, followed by Cameron Green, who can contribute with at least three overs in the middle of the required. The toss-up will be between Rahul Tripathi and Anukul Roy in the eleven, with the latter providing overs inside the powerplay and having been in tremendous touch for Jharkhand in the SMAT 2025/26.

Rinku Singh has bossed the number six position with Ramandeep Singh coming at number seven. However, the dynamics may change for the franchise if they decide to open with Sunil Narine; who else can be slotted at number eight? When he got the chance to open in 2023, the southpaw smashed a fine century against the Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens.

Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora will be their Indian pacers, with the back-up of Karhik Tyagi being prepared. Pathirana is likely to start the campaign, as Kolkata also used over INR 9 crore for Mustafizur Rahman for a similar role. However, the Bangladesh bowler won’t be available for the entire season, which was already communicated to the franchises by the BCCI ahead of the auction.

Varun Chakravarthy, the impact player, will surely bring the potential impact in the eleven. In case Narine opens, the franchise may then go with Rovman Powell in the lower order.

KKR's strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Tim Seifert/Finn Allen (wk.), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rahul Tripathi/Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Matheesha Pathirana.

Impact player: Varun Chakravarthy.

After a successful first couple of seasons where the Gujarat Titans (GT) won their maiden title of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022 and ended as the runners-up in the following season, they didn’t taste much success under the leadership of Shubman Gill. Later, they finally got the joy in the previous season of the event with nine wins and five defeats to finish in third position in the event.

Gujarat Titans made a massive move by trading their overseas all-rounder, Sherfane Rutherford, from the playing squad to the Mumbai Indians. Their opening position and the top order looked quite balanced and strong. However, their concern was with Rashid Khan, who didn’t get much success in the previous season.

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Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan are expected to open the innings for the Titans, with the Tamil Nadu opening batter enjoying the previous season with 759 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.21 and a strike rate of nearly 160 with the help of six half-centuries and one century at the best score of unbeaten 108 runs.

Gujarat Titans’ strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Gujarat signed the England wicket-keeper batter, Tom Banton, late in the auction, who they can use as the back-up option of Jos Buttler and make him bat at the number three position. Jason Holder can also be a fine player for the middle order of the side. Moraless, they already had a balanced squad even before the auction.

Gujarat Titans (GT) full squad ahead of IPL 2026

Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Tom Banton, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Jos Buttler, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Rahul Tewatia, Nishant Sindhu, Jayant Yadav, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Luke Wood, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Prithvi Raj Yarra, Sai Kishore.

Shubman was equally exceptional with the bat at the opening spot for the Titans as the right-handed batter amassed 650 runs in 15 innings of the previous season at an average of 50 and a strike rate of 155.87 with the help of six half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 97 runs.

Meanwhile, Buttler cracked 538 runs in just 13 innings at an average of nearly 60 and a strike rate of 163.03 with five half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 97 runs. Even at number four, they have the fine spin all-rounder of India, Washington Sundar, in the eleven with Sharukh Khan walking at number five.

At number six, they will have the toss-up between New Zealand’s Glenn Phillip and West Indies’ Jason Holder. The latter looks to be a more suitable option, given he can provide four overs with the ball and bat in the middle order with brutal power. Rahul Tewatia brings balance in the lower order, while Rashid Khan is the trump card of the eleven.

In the pace bowling department, they will have Kagiso Rabada and Mohammad Siraj, along with Prasidh Krishna in the eleven. Rabada missed the last season’s many clashes due to personal reasons, as this time, GT signed the back-up option of left-arm pacer Luke Wood.

Sai Kishore will be their left-arm spin all-rounder, who has been economical on most occasions of the last season and can prove to be a vital player once they travel to Chennai or Lucknow.

GT’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk.), Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Glenn Phillips/Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, R Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammad Siraj.

Impact player: Prasidh Krishna.

Mumbai Indians (MI) went through a decent season in 2025 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they finished at the fourth position of the points table with the help of eight wins in 14 clashes at a net run rate of +1.142. They missed the bus only at the second qualifier when the Punjab Kings (PBKS) proved to be too good to beat for them.

The Hardik Pandya-led side were exceptional at the top in the presence of their former captain, Rohit Sharma, who paired with the South Africa wicket-keeper batter, Ryan Rickelton, in the group stage of the campaign, with the latter smashing 388 runs at a strike rate of over 150 with three half-centuries.

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Even when Rickelton went away to England for the early preparations of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final against Australia, Mumbai found a fine replacement in Jonny Bairstow, who grabbed the spotlight with 85 runs in two innings at a strike rate of more than 184.

Mumbai Indians’ strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Mumbai went into the auction with the smallest purse and was expected to be the least-buying team of the auction. Quinte funnily, they lifted the paddle for the Australia all-rounder, Cameron Green, who was never going to be under their radar with an anticipation of crossing the INR 20 crore mark.

Mumbai Indians squad ahead of IPL 2026:

Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Danish Malewar, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock, Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell Santner, Naman Dhir, Raj Bawa, Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Raghu Sharma, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Mohammed Izhar.

It was a steal from the Mumbai Indians to sign their former wicket-keeper batter, Quinton de Kock, for a price of only INR 1 crore. He can now reunite with Rohit at the opening position and still have Rickelton as the back-up option of the side. Suryakumar Yadav has cemented his place at number three, followed by Tilka Varma.

Is there any question about the all-round skill of Hardik Pandya, who can bring the best balance of the side with runs and wickets in the middle order and overs of the innings, respectively? At six, they can use Naman Dhir in the eleven with one of Sherfane Rutherford and Mitchell Santer taking the place at number seven.

On slow and low surfaces like Chennai and Lucknow, Mumbai may opt to go with Santner, whose four overs will be vital for the franchise, while on pace tracks and the requirement of scoring big runs at the lower order, Rutherford will be the suitable option.

It was a shocker that they didn’t let go of Deepak Chahar, whom they could have gotten back for a low price. It also would have given them a better chance to bid for a few players, which they couldn’t do with such a small purse. They also brought Shardul Thakur into the side with Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult being their premier pacers.

In the spin department, they will have Allah Ghazanfar along with one of Ashwani Kumar or Mayank Markande doing the rest of the job. If they are not happy with either Santner or Rutherford, Will Jacks can be a good option to use in the lower middle order of the side.

MI’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk.), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutheford/Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur/Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande/Ashwani Kumar, AM Ghazanfar.

Impact player: Trent Boult.

When Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) picked up their eleven for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, many reckoned that they would perhaps go for the 300 score in most of the games. And on the very first clash against the Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, they showed the power. However, the bowling remained the issue.

Just like they cracked 300 runs on the board, they kept on leaking the same amount of runs in their defense, which never helped them get a better result in the game. The Sunrisers Hyderabad ended at the sixth position in the points table with six victories in 14 games at a net run rate of -0.241.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Sunrisers Hyderabad had the third-biggest available purse of the IPL 2026, and they spent a massive chunk of it on Liam Livingstone late on the auction for a huge price of INR 13 crore. This remained their only big purchase of the action-packed day. But the question is, where would they make the England star play?

SRH full squad for IPL 2026:

Travis Head, Aniket Verma, R Smaran, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Salil Arora, Liam Livingstone, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Brydon Carse, Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Harsh Dubey, Jack Edwards, Shivang Kumar, Krains Fuletra, Zeeshan Ansari, Amit Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Jaydev Unadkat, Shivam Mavi, Onkar Tarmale, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge.

See Also: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

They already have a successful opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who will again go berserk at the bowlers from the opening over of the innings inside the powerplay. Ishan Kishan, who had two halves of the IPL 2025 with runs on both ends of the campaign, has now found his new version, having led the Jharkhand side to the final of the SMAT 2025/26 with some fabulous performances.

It was a shocking decision that the franchise didn’t go big for either Ravi Bishnoi or Rahul Chahar, who could have been a better balanced option for them in the eleven. Their bowling also looked quite inexperienced in the absence of Mohammad Shami, who has now made his move to the Lucknow Super Giants.

The spin attack has got the new flavor of the left-arm wrist spinner, Krains Fultera. Shivam Mavi could end up being their pacer. At number four, they will have Nitish Kumar Reddy as the pace bowling all-rounder of the side, as it will be important for their balance to see the Andhra star roll his arm for a few overs.

Heinrich Klassen is the X-factor of the franchise, having continued to grow in his aggressive mode with the bat, anywhere he bats. But his middle-order heroics will be crucial for the franchise as they can now add more power with Aniket Verma and Livingston at number six and seven.

The former was exceptional in his very first season of the league in bailing out the franchise from trouble on many occasions during the game. Pat Cummins, the captain, will be back in the pace bowling department along with Harshal Patel for his death overs role. The left-arm pacer, Jaydev Unadkat, can now have a more senior role in the side.

SRH’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk..), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klassen, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone/Jack Edwards, Pat Cummins (c), Harsh Dubey/Krains Fuletra, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi/Zeeshan Ansari.

Impact Player: Jaydev Unadkat. 

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) experienced their worst season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), finishing with the wooden spoon of the points table. They lost their captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, at the start of the season last year due to an injury, which pushed the franchise to appoint MS Dhoni as the leader for the rest of the series.

MS Dhoni’s presence in the leadership position couldn’t make much difference in the side as they continued to suffer in the batting department, by not putting enough runs on the board for the bowlers to defend. Even on flat tracks, they were not able to up the run-rate.

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Once they got the young players, like Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, or Urvil Patel in the side, they realized the importance of chances in the playing eleven, which saw the franchise making a massive shift to the squad selection in the mini-auction in Abu Dhabi for the 2026 season.

Chennai Super Kings’ strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini-auction.

Chennai made a massive move by signing Sanju Samson ahead of the auction, which saw them end their decade-long relationship with the star spin all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, besides letting go of the star left-arm pace all-rounder from England, Sam Curran.

Chennai Super Kings full squad for IPL 2026

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Short, Sanju Samson, MS Dhoni, Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Shivam Dube, Zak Foulkes, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Shreyas Gopal, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Aman Khan, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmed, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Nathan Ellis, Matt Henry, Gurjapneet Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary.

CSK signed two uncapped players for a massive price of INR 14.2 crore each to the left-arm spin all-rounder, Prashant Veer, and the uncapped wicket-keeper batter, Karthik Sharma. The former is anticipated to be their future star as the replacement of Jadeja, while Karthik can be the new star wicket-keeper for the franchise after the potential retirement of MS Dhoni.

“Sometimes you can hang on to theories and philosophies because of past success, but we identified that we needed to shift, and partly the work that we did last season, halfway through, has enabled us to continue that work done.” Their head coach, Stephen Flemming, expressed after the end of the IPL 2026 auction.

CSK will face the headache of selecting their openers. They are likely to start with Samson and Mhatre at the opening position, followed by captain Gaikwad at number three. Dewald Brevis could find his feet at number four, with Shivam Dube being the spin hitter at number five. There will be discussions about whether they want to go with Karthik Sharma or Sarfaraz Khan at number six.

The latter, currently, has been in top notch with a strike rate of 203 in 330+ run campaign during the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025/26 for Mumbai, which could push his place. Veer will be the left-arm spinner at seven, followed by Dhoni at eight.

Nathan Ellis was excellent with his slower deliveries at the death overs last year and will now need to lead the period in the absence of Matheesha Pathirana. Another toss-up will be between Matt Henruy and Akeal Hossein, depending on the conditions they are playing in.

Noor Ahmed, one of their most successful players of the IPL 2025, will be the last player of the eleven, with Khaleel Ahmed expected to be the impact player of the side.

CSK's strongest 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Karthik Sharma, Prashant Veer/Anshul Kamboj, MS Dhoni (wk..), Nathan Ellis, Matt Henry/Akeal Hossein, Noor Ahmed.

Impact player- Khaleel Ahmed.

The defending champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) heading into the 2026 season of the competition, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, entered the auction in Abu Dhabi with only a few expected changes to make. They nearly had a settled eleven from top to bottom, which could again do the job for them if things fall in place.

Last year, Bengaluru got their players in form and in brutal power at the top in the batting department, while their pacers and spinners did the job of picking wickets equally well whenever required. Virat Kohli and Phil Salt’s opening partnership was excellent at the top, while one of the biggest reasons for their success was Josh Hazlewood.

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Hazlewood’s powerplay bowling, along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and then returning with some smart bowling in the death overs, didn’t allow the opponents to run away with the game. The only issue for them was the number three batter, Devdutt Padikkal, who was a bit injury-prone and missed the crucial playoff contests.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

During the previous auction of the IPL 2025, Bengaluru went as high as INR 23.50 crore for Venkatesh Iyer before losing the battle to the Kolkata Knight Riders. This year, they faced the same challenge again and were finally successful in signing the all-rounder for a third of the price in INR 7 crore.

RCB full squad for IPL 2026:

Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Romario Shepherd, Satwik Deswal, Kanish Chouhan, Vihaan Malhotra, Vicky Ostwal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam, Mangesh Yadav, Yash Dayal, Jacob Duffy, Nuwan Thushara, Abhinandan Singh, Suyash Sharma.

Venkatesh’s presence will be crucial in the playing eleven for the Bengaluru side as the southpaw can showcase his skills against the spinners at number three, which will also allow his state team’s captain, Rajat Patidar, play more freely against those sorts of bowlers.

Beyond that, Bengaluru went ahead with New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy, who came in as a cover for Josh Hazlewood, whose recent list of injuries has been a concern for the franchise. He missed the entire Ashes 2025/26 after some impressive performances at the start of the summer against India. He is expected to be present for the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

Mangesh Yadav is their left-arm pacer who can bowl 140+ and be the best replacement of Yash Dayal, who hasn’t played any competitive cricket since the IPL 2025 final.

Bengaluru won’t make many changes in their playing eleven, with Kohli and Phil Salt expected to open the batting, followed by Venkatesh at number three. Patidar will walk at number four with the wicket-keeper batter, Jitesh Sharma, being the number five of the line-up. Tim David will be their number six, along with West Indies’ Romario Shepherd at number seven.

Krunal Pandya was superb with the ball in any phase of the IPL 2025 for RCB and will retain his number eight spot as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood are the two other pacers with Suyash Sharma as the number 11. Yash Dayal can end up being the impact player of the team.

Bengaluru’s future of playing at home- M. Chinnaswamy Stadium- isn’t guaranteed yet. Even though it’s a blow for the fan support, in terms of conditions, it can be a blessing in disguise for the side.

RCB’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk.), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood.

Impact player- Yash Dayal/Mangesh Yadav.