IPL 2026: 5 players who could be game changers ft. Sanju Samson

Year after year, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has produced some incredible individual performances with the bat and ball in hand. They are called the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the side. But they can also be coined as the game-changer of the event.

Using the form of the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2026, some of the players can take the aggressive approach with either bat or ball and make a massive impact in the game. Sanju Samson, who has made his way from the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), is one of the players in the list.

A look at the five players who could be game changers ft. Sanju Samson.

1.Sanju Samson (CSK)

The wicket-keeper opening batter of the Indian side, Sanju Samson, finished the T20 World Cup 2026 as the third leading run-getter of the competition. The right-handed batter has smashed a total of 321 runs in five innings at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of nearly 200, with the help of three half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 97 runs that he made against West Indies in the quarter-final at the Eden Gardens.

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Samson missed most of the previous season of the IPL in 2025 due to injury for the Royals. In nine innings, the Kerala-born nailed 285 runs at a strike rate of 140.39. This year, he will be opening with Ayush Mhatre for CSK and look to make a massive contribution.

2. Finn Allen (KKR) 

Finn Allen, the opening batter of the New Zealand side, scored 298 runs in eight innings of the T20 WC 2026 at an average of 49.66 and a strike rate of 200 with one fifty and as many centuries. That century knock came in just 33 balls during the semifinal against South Africa.

Allen, quite surprisingly, hasn’t featured in the IPL at all. He was part of the squad for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the past, but didn’t play a single game. In 2026, he will walk at Eden Gardens to open the batting and create a game-changing impact.

3. Will Jacks (MI) 

England had several players who stood up with the bat in the T20 World Cup 2026, but their biggest game changer of the event was Will Jacks, who turned the game on its head with vital innings with the bat inside the death overs and picked up crucial wickets with the ball in the spin department. Jacks also bagged nine wickets in seven innings at a strike rate of 13.33.

In the IPL 2025, for the Mumbai Indians, Jacks scored 233 runs in just 11 innings at a strike rate of 135.46 with the help of one half-century. With Hardik Pandya, Jacks can bring value for the five-time champions in the death overs.

4. Jasprit Bumrah (MI) 

Is there any better game-changer with the ball in the current T20 era than Jasprit Bumrah? The right-arm pacer finished as the leading wicket-taker of the T20 WC 2026 with 14 wickets in eight innings at an average of 12.42 and an economy rate of just 6.21. In the final, he finished with 4/15 in four overs against New Zealand. 

The Ahmedabad-born ended with 18 wickets in the last edition of the IPL in 12 innings at an average of 17.55 and a strike rate of 15.7. He also carried a jaw-dropping economy rate of 6.67. This version of Bumrah will be the biggest game-changer for Mumbai.

5. Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR)

Despite his strong performance in T20Is with 723 runs in 22 innings, Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t played a lot of 20-over games for the Indian side. This is surprising. He has been one of the most regular players in the IPL.

Jaiswal has crossed the 400-run mark in all the last three editions of the competition. The southpaw managed 559 runs in 14 innings in IPL 2025 at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 159.71 with the help of six half-centuries at the best score of 75 runs.