With the Mumbai Indians as the topper, explore the best playing 11 ranking for all 10 teams for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
The T20 World Cup 2026 comes to a successful end, with India being crowned as the champions for the second time in a row. Team India and the Indian team players made history as they became the first team to win 3 ICC Men’s T20 World Cups, defend the T20 World Cup title, win a T20 World Cup as host nation, and win the T20 World Cup back-to-back. It was a World Cup victory to remember for the World’s best T20 team.
The action now shifts from the T20 World Cup to IPL 2026 as all players now regroup for the greatest T20 extravaganza, the Indian Premier League. The IPL 2026 begins in just a few weeks, but barring the T20 World Cup participants, who may take a couple of weeks’ break, all other players are already assembled in the training camps. It’s a festival season in India, and from cheering Team India, people will now be back to cheering their favourite IPL team.
The IPL 2026 Mini Auction saw some thrilling bids, and all teams were able to buy the players of their choice to form a strong team. But the main question once again arises. Which team has the best squad on paper for the marquee event, and how strong is the team combination? Well, let’s analyse the squad of each team, and find out the ranking of the best predicted playing 11 for all 10 teams for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
IPL 2026 Ranking All 10 Teams Best Predicted Playing 11
#10: Lucknow Super Giants
- Mitchell Marsh
- Aiden Markram
- Nicholas Pooran
- Rishabh Pant (c&wk)
- Ayush Badoni
- Abdul Samad
- Shahbaz Ahmed
- Wanindu Hasaranga
- Avesh Khan
- Mohammed Shami
- Digvesh Rathi
Impact Player: Mayank Yadav
For number 10, we have the Lucknow Super Giants team, and the playing 11 resembles the 2025 edition, but with a few minor changes. The team is once again Indian-bowling heavy, with Hasaranga and Shami being new additions. The batting is strong with a strong top 4, but Abdul Samad and Ayush Badoni are inexperienced finishers. Overall, LSG will need their bowlers to come good for them to have a blockbuster season.
#9: Sunrisers Hyderabad
- Abhishek Sharma
- Travis Head
- Ishan Kishan
- Heinrich Klaasen (wk)
- Liam Livingstone
- Nitish Reddy
- Aniket Verma
- Harsh Dubey
- Pat Cummins (c)
- Harshal Patel
- Zeeshan Ansari
Impact Player: Jaydev Unadkat
Number 9 belongs to the SRH team, and aside from having the most aggressive batting in the IPL, the SRH team’s bowling is once again a letdown. Barring Cummins and Harshal, the bowling seems outdated and inexperienced. So, SRH will once again depend on their belligerent batters, and the likes of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen will once again take the centre stage. But can SRH’s bowling match up with their batting to give SRH an unforgettable tournament?
#8: Kolkata Knight Riders Best Playing 11 for IPL 2026
- Ajinkya Rahane (c)
- Finn Allen
- Cameron Green
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Rinku Singh
- Ramandeep Singh
- Tejasvi Singh (wk)
- Sunil Narine
- Harshit Rana
- Matheesha Pathirana
- Varun Chakravarthy
Impact Player: Vaibhav Arora
At number 8, we have the KKR team. On paper, this is a solid team, but the issue is injury concerns to Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana. At the outset, Pathirana and Harshit may be at least in the tournament. If this happens, it is already a big blow to KKR. Hence, considering the scenario, their ranking reduces a bit. While KKR’s batting looks pretty good, how they utilise Narine, and who keeps in the side, will be a key question for the KKR team.
#7: Chennai Super Kings
- Ayush Mhatre
- Sanju Samson
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (c)
- Dewald Brevis
- Kartik Sharma
- Shivam Dube
- Prashant Veer
- MS Dhoni (wk)
- Nathan Ellis
- Matt Henry
- Noor Ahmad
Impact Player: Khaleel Ahmed
For number 7, we have the CSK team, and on paper, this is marginally better than the 2025 edition team. The addition of Sanju Samson at the top gives them 5 solid players in the top 5. The form of Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube in the middle-order will be the key. In the bowling department, CSK once looks solid if they play Ellis and Henry together. If not, they will have to depend on Anshul Kamboj. It will also be interesting to see how CSK’s two new youngsters, Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer, perform.
#6: Rajasthan Royals
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Vaibhav Suryavanshi
- Riyan Parag (c)
- Dhruv Jurel (wk)
- Shimron Hetmyer
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Sam Curran
- Shubham Dubey
- Jofra Archer
- Sandeep Sharma
- Ravi Bishnoi
Impact Player: Nandre Burger
Coming to number 6, we have the Rajasthan Royals team, and it looks like a slightly revamped squad as compared to what we had seen in 2025. The addition of Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, and Ravi Bishnoi not only makes their bowling stronger, but also brings great batting depth into the picture. The form of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Riyan Parag will be very crucial for RR to have a successful tournament. But overall, the team looks well-balanced from all angles.
#5: Delhi Capitals Best Playing 11 for IPL 2026
- Abhishek Porel
- KL Rahul (wk)
- Nitish Rana
- David Miller
- Tristan Stubbs
- Axar Patel (c)
- Ashutosh Sharma
- Vipraj Nigam
- Mitchell Starc
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Lungi Ngidi
Impact Player: T Natarajan
Coming to number 5, we have the Delhi Capitals team, and they look relatively better than their 2025 edition team. The team has a solid mix of Indian and Overseas players. While KL Rahul brings stability at the top, Porel and Rana bring firepower. Miller and Stubbs are solid as middle-order batters, and Axar, Ashutosh and Vipraj provide solid finishing duties. The team will have to trust Natarajan, and give him more opportunities. They should also think of playing two Overseas pacers, Lungi Ngidi and Mitchell Starc, which will make their bowling stronger.
#4: Gujarat Titans
- Shubman Gill (c)
- Sai Sudharsan
- Jos Buttler (wk)
- Washington Sundar
- Glenn Phillips
- Shahrukh Khan
- Rahul Tewatia
- Kagiso Rabada
- Rashid Khan
- R Sai Kishore
- Mohammed Siraj
Impact Player: Prasidh Krishna
Number 4 belongs to the Gujarat Titans team, and not much changes for them from what we had seen in IPL 2025. The team may have lost Sherfane Rutherford, but they have an equally competent Glenn Phillips as the replacement. The team is once again top-order heavy, with middle-order dependent on the likes of Shahrukh Khan, Phillips, and Sundar. The bowling is once again the strength for the Gujarat Titans, with 5 solid bowlers in the side.
#3: Punjab Kings
- Priyansh Arya
- Prabhsimran Singh (wk)
- Shreyas Iyer (c)
- Nehal Wadhera
- Marcus Stoinis
- Shashank Singh
- Azmatullah Omarzai
- Marco Jansen
- Harpreet Brar
- Arshdeep Singh
- Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact Player: Lockie Ferguson
Moving on to the top 3, we have the Punjab Kings team, and this is one team that has so many quality all-rounders in place that give them solid batting depth, and many bowling options. Having a cushion of Harpreet Brar at 9 is something really good for the team. This is without even compromising on bowling, as Arshdeep, Chahal, Lockie, Jansen, Omarzai, Stoinis, and Harpreet is a solid bowling lineup. The team’s core is also uncapped player-centric, with a focus on Priyansh, Prabsimran, Wadhera, and Shashank.
#2: Royal Challengers Bengaluru
- Virat Kohli
- Phil Salt
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Rajat Patidar (c)
- Tim David
- Jitesh Sharma (wk)
- Romario Shepherd
- Krunal Pandya
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Josh Hazlewood
- Yash Dayal
Impact Player: Suyash Sharma
Coming to number 2, we have the defending champions, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The RCB team won the title last year, and it looks like a well-balanced team from all angles this year, too. But the only challenge is that the competition, and especially the Mumbai Indians, are technically better placed now. RCB does have some loose ends, such as inexperience in bowling with Yash Dayal and Suyash Sharma, but since they have a well-balanced squad, this issue wasn’t exposed much last year.
#1: Mumbai Indians
- Rohit Sharma
- Quinton de Kock (wk)
- Suryakumar Yadav
- Tilak Varma
- Hardik Pandya (c)
- Will Jacks
- Naman Dhir
- Mitchell Santner
- Deepak Chahar
- Trent Boult
- Jasprit Bumrah
Impact Player: Mayank Markande
Finally, at Numero uno, we have a team that can play multiple playing 11 combinations, and still look strong. Yes, the team has so many like-for-like replacements, like Ryan Rickelton for Quinton de Kock, Sherfane Rutherford for Will Jacks, Allah Ghazanfar for Mitchell Santner, or Shardul Thakur for Deepak Chahar. Such is this team that they can play any combination, and still look strong on paper. So, if these players keep their form intact, even RCB may find it hard to defeat them.
ALSO READ: IPL 2026 Ranking Each Team Basis Best Squad and Players List
So, that’s about the full IPL 2026 playing 11 ranking for all 10 teams. Thanks for reading! Looking at all 10 teams playing 11 ranking for IPL 2026, which team looks the best? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com, or mention them in the comments section below.