The Indian Premier League returns with a new season, and your favorite players are back after a splendid 2025 season. In the previous season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru got their long-overdue IPL trophy. It was a cherishing moment for both the fans and the team. Virat Kohli expressed his gratification at winning after 18 years of contribution. Moreover, Captain Rajat Patidar said that the win is due to patience and resilience rather than luck. Coming to the current season, the BCCI has given the initial schedule for the Twenty-Over fixtures. Besides, the IPL auction was held on December 16, 2025, with teams selecting players amid heavy demand. Let’s look at the upcoming fixtures, players, and teams, breaking them down.
The IPL 2025 Season was simply astounding as the league’s underdog teams rose to the top. Legends like the Mumbai Indians’ performance were not adequate, and they delivered a substandard performance. Likewise, the Chennai Super Kings also lost their previous season very badly. Ultimately, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the finals, beating the Punjab Kings. It was one of the defining moments in IPL history.
IPL 2026 -Teams and Players
Team
Players
Chennai Super Kings
Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Matthew William Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar
Teams: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
How to Watch IPL 2026?
You can watch all the Indian Premier League matches on JioHotstar live stream. You can also watch the IPL matches on the Star Sports network throughout India. Fans in the United States can stream the IPL through Willow TV.
IPL 2026 Auction: Big Moves
The Indian Premier League Mini Auction was held in 2025 December. The highest bid was for Cameron Green, who was sold for ₹25,20,00,000. Kolkata Knight Riders brought them after hiking the price from the base amount of ₹2,00,00,000. KKR also bought Matheesha Pathirana for ₹18,00,00,000. Pathirana was a death-over specialist. His right-arm pace bowl delivers accurate yorkers.
Chennai Super Kings brought Karthik Sharma and Prashant Veer for ₹14,20,00,000 each. They both are high-impact uncapped players. Veer is a batting all-rounder. Meanwhile, Shamra is an intense wicketkeeper and batter. In addition, Liam Livingstone (₹13,00,00,000), Mustafizur Rahman (₹9,20,00,000), Josh Inglis (₹8,60,00,000), and Auqib Dar (₹8,40,00,000) were the successive top bids. Lastly, Ravi Bishnoi was sold for ₹7,20,00,000, and Jason Holder was sold for ₹7,00,00,000, respectively.
IPL 2026 Opening Day Fixtures and March Matches Preview
RCB vs SRH Predictions
RCB Players
Role
Players
Openers
Phil Salt, Virat Kohli
Top / Middle Order
Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Venkatesh Iyer
Wicketkeeper / Finisher
Jitesh Sharma
Finishers / All-rounders
Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya
Bowlers
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood / Jacob Duffy
Impact Player Options
Suyash Sharma, Devdutt Padikkal
SRH Players
Role
Players
Openers
Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma
Top / Middle Order
Ishan Kishan (C/WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy
Middle Order Engine
Heinrich Klaasen
Finishers / All-rounders
Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins
Bowlers
Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat
Impact Player Options
Zeeshan Ansari, Shivam Mavi, Smaran Ravichandran
Preview
The IPL will kick off with RCB and SRH facing each other at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28, 2026. The Chinnaswamy Stadium is a betting-friendly pitch, allowing a substantial number of runs from both sides. Regarding batting, RCB has strong openers like Virat Kohli, who is expected to turn more aggressive this season. They also have strong middle-order batters like Rajat Patidar and finishers like Jitesh Sharma. SRH comes with an explosive batting lineup. However, they face issues in bowling. Top orders like Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma could withstand RCB’s pace. Overall, the match is expected to have a high-scoring affair from both sides. However, RCB’s bowling is superior to SRH’s, making them the winners in this IPL clash.
The Pick: Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
MI vs KKR Predictions
MI Players
Role
Key Players
Openers
Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (WK), Ryan Rickelton (WK)
Top/Middle Order
Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Robin Minz, Danish Malewar
The Mumbai Indians are one of the strong-performing teams in IPL so far. Currently, they have a strong squad that has veteran leadership and dominance. Hardik Pandya comes as a captain once again under Rohit Sharma’s batting dominance. The team has India’s elite capped players like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah. The MI squad also brings their elite death bowling. Deadly Yorkers from pacey bowlers like Bumrah are what make them strong in bowling. Similarly, the Kolkata Knight Riders make key additions, including Cameron Green, who was bought at a record price. Their batting order has strong openers like Rachin Ravindra. However, KKR has poor bowling efficiency as they lack the depth that MI has. So, the Mumbai Indians have the edge in this IPL matchup.
The Pick: Mumbai Indians.
What to Expect This Season?
The IPL 2026 Season will be just as legendary as the previous season. The first win in 18 years has given a new confidence to RCB, making them an active contender. On the other hand, the Punjab Kings are determined to win this time, having no titles so far. Similarly, legends like CSK, MI, and KKR are on their way to compete in the IPL, making it more intriguing. Overall, the title race will be furious with each match.