Last Updated on 1 month ago by Charbel Coorey

The 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) is on our doorstep. All 10 teams have set squads and will field strong XIIs, and it will be fascinating to see who comes out on top this season.

IPL 2026: Possible 11 for all teams

Here is a look at possible and predicted XIIs for every team in IPL 2026.

Chennai Super Kings

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

CSK invested heavily in youth in this mini-auction, a shift in their usual experience-first approach. They spent an eyewatering INR 14.2 crore on both Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer. Those two join a good core of young talent which includes Ayush Mhatre and Dewald Brevis.

However, in a huge blow, Nathan Ellis was ruled out of the IPL due to a hamstring injury. This could further impact CSK’s death-bowling stocks. According to cricbuzz, the franchise is searching for a replacement player.

T20 World Cup player of the tournament Sanju Samson is a huge addition for the franchise this season, while Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis can be a magnificent spin-hitting duo.

Possible XII: 1. Ayush Mhatre, 2. Sanju Samson, 3. Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), 4. Dewald Brevis (OS), 5. Kartik Sharma, 6. Shivam Dube, 7. MS Dhoni (wk), 8. Prashant Veer, 9. Matt Henry (OS), 10. Noor Ahmad (OS), 11. Khaleel Ahmed, 12. Jamie Overton (OS)

Delhi Capitals

Squad: Abhishek Porel, Ajay Mandal, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, T. Natarajan, Tripurana Vijay, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam, Auqib Dar, Pathum Nissanka, Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller, Prithvi Shaw, Sahil Parakh.

Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi and Pathum Nissanka are likely to be the overseas starters for DC. Mitchell Starc won’t arrive until later in the tournament and Ben Duckett has withdrawn entirely to focus on England duties.

Auqib Nabi, who has 43 wickets in 34 T20s at an economy of 7.74, is one to watch in the IPL 2026 season after DC landed his services for INR 8.4 crore.

Possible XII: 1. KL Rahul (wk), 2. Pathum Nissanka (OS), 3. Nitish Rana, 4. Tristan Stubbs (OS), 5. Axar Patel (c), 6. David Miller (OS), 7. Ashutosh Sharma, 8. Vipraj Nigam, 9. Lungi Ngidi (OS), 10. Auqib Nabi, 11. Kuldeep Yadav, 12. T Natarajan

Gujarat Titans

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

GT were one of the leading teams throughout the 2025 IPL season. They narrowly missed out on the top two, and were eventually beaten in the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians.

They will field a similar core this season, although there may be a few changes. Jason Holder, who had an excellent T20 World Cup campaign, could slot straight in. Also, Jos Buttler’s poor form is of concern, so it will be interesting to see if GT persist with him or opt for Tom Banton.

Possible XII: 1. Shubman Gill (c), 2. Sai Sudharsan, 3. Jos Buttler/Tom Banton (OS, wk), 4. Washington Sundar, 5. Shahrukh Khan, 6. Jason Holder (OS), 7. Rahul Tewatia, 8. Rashid Khan (OS), 9. Sai Kishore, 10. Kagiso Rabada (OS), 11. Prasidh Krishna, 12. Mohammed Siraj

Kolkata Knight Riders

Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, Akash Deep, Blessing Muzarabani

KKR face a conundrum. They have both Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, who form one of the most destructive opening combinations in T20 cricket. However, can they fit both in the XII?

Cameron Green, purchased for an overseas record of INR 25.20 crore, will surely make the first XII despite his tough summer. Sunil Narine and Matheesha Pathirana (if fit) are likely to be the other overseas players. If the latter doesn’t make the start of the season due to a injury, Anrich Nortje or Blessing Muzarabani could line up.

If KKR opt for both Seifert and Allen, they could leave Pathirana/Nortje out for a domestic pacer such as Akash Deep or Umran Malik. However, then the question of where Ajinkya Rahane bats with Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Cameron Green also top four players.

Possible XII: 1. Tim Seifert/Finn Allen (OS, wk), 2. Ajinkya Rahane (c), 3. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 4. Cameron Green (OS), 5. Rahul Tripathi/Anukul Roy, 6. Rinku Singh, 7. Ramandeep Singh, 8. Sunil Narine (OS), 9 Akash Deep, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Blessing Muzarabani (OS), 12 Varun Chakravarthy

Lucknow Super Giants

Squad: Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Aiden Markram, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Rishabh Pant (c), Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav, Akash Singh, Mohammed Shami, Arjun Tendulkar, Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis.

Lots will rest on Ayush Badoni and Abdul Samad in the finishing department for LSG, unless one of their high-quality top three players can bat deep. Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran can get the team off to rapid starts, but what Rishabh Pant and the middle order do will be key.

Depending on conditions, LSG may opt to play pacers Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mohammed Shami and Mayank Yadav. Wanindu Hasaranga must pass fitness tests to be granted an NOC by Sri Lanka Cricket.

Possible XII: 1. Mitchell Marsh (OS), 2. Aiden Markram (OS), 3. Nicholas Pooran (OS), 4. Rishabh Pant (c & wk), 5. Ayush Badoni, 6. Abdul Samad, 7. Shahbaz Ahmed, 8. Avesh Khan/Mohsin Khan, 9. Mohammed Shami, 10. Anrich Nortje (OS), 11. Mayank Yadav, 12 Digvesh Rathi

Mumbai Indians

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

MI have a host of quality overseas options, including Sherfane Rutherford and Will Jacks who are both having an excellent year. Mitchell Santner and Corbin Bosch are also terrific options for that number seven role.

MI also have a choice between Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton to open alongside Rohit Sharma. Allah Ghazanfar may win a spot as a specialist spinner alongside Trent Boult.

Possible XII: 1. Rohit Sharma, 2. Ryan Rickelton (OS, wk), 3. Suryakumar Yadav, 4. Tilak Varma, 5. Hardik Pandya (c), 6. Naman Dhir, 7. Sherfane Rutherford/Will Jacks (OS), 8. Deepak Chahar, 9. Jasprit Bumrah, 10. Ashwani Kumar/Mayank Markande, 11. AM Ghazanfar (OS), 12. Trent Boult (OS)

Punjab Kings

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

IPL 2025 finalists PBKS have a relatively settled core. New recruit Cooper Connolly could slot in the middle order alongside Marcus Stoinis, who Ricky Ponting is a big fan of.

Possible XII: 1. Priyansh Arya, 2. Prabhsimran Singh (wk), 3. Shreyas Iyer (c), 4. Nehal Wadhera, 5. Cooper Connolly/Azmatullah Omarzai (OS), 6. Marcus Stoinis (OS), 7. Shashank Singh, 8. Marco Jansen (OS), 9. Harpreet Brar, 10. Arshdeep Singh, 11. Xavier Bartlett (OS), 12. Yuzvendra Chahal.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

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

The defending champions also have a settled core, although they may be very tempted to play the in-form Jacob Bethell. The left-hander finished the T20 World Cup with an outstanding 105 off 48 balls against India in the semi-final.

Possible XII: 1. Phil Salt (OS), 2. Virat Kohli, 3. Devdutt Padikkal/Venkatesh Iyer, 4. Rajat Patidar (c), 5. Tim David (OS), 6. Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7. Romario Shepherd (OS), 8. Krunal Pandya, 9. Mangesh Yadav, 10. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11. Jacob Duffy (OS), 12. Suyash Sharma

Rajasthan Royals

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

RR’s top six can cause significant damage. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who scored an incredible 101 off 38 balls last year, continues to produce freakish performances at all levels. Lhuan-dre Pretorius could get a start in the top three, with a strong middle order to follow.

Dasun Shanaka has replaced Sam Curran, who will miss IPL 2026 due to injury. The bowling attack possesses experience with Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Bishnoi as the main spinners. Whether Jofra Archer can remain fit remains to be seen in his return to the Royals.

Possible XII: 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3. Lhuan-dre Pretorius (OS), 4. Riyan Parag (c), 5. Dhruv Jurel (wk), 6. Shimron Hetmyer (OS), 7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. Dasun Shanaka/Donovan Ferreira (OS), 9. Jofra Archer (OS), 10. Ravi Bishnoi, 11. Tushar Deshpande, 12 Sandeep Sharma.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

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

2024 finalists SRH had a very disappointing 2025 campaign. Their top order is very strong on paper again, especially with Ishan Kishan’s outstanding form.

However, the bowling attack will have plenty of heavy lifting to do, especially with Pat Cummins out of the early stages of the tournament. Also, Jack Edwards is ruled out of the entire campaign due to a foot injury.

Harsh Dubey could have a key role to play as left-arm spinner.

Possible XII: 1. Travis Head (OS), 2. Abhishek Sharma, 3. Ishan Kishan (c & wk), 4. Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5. Heinrich Klaasen (OS), 6. Aniket Verma, 7. Liam Livingstone (OS), 8. Brydon Carse (OS)/Zeeshan Ansari, 9. Harsh Dubey, 10. Harshal Patel, 11. Shivam Mavi, 12. Jaydev Unadkat.