Cameron Green opens for KKR, CSK fields both Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma? Strongest IPL 2026 XIs of all teams

The 19th edition of IPL sees major power shifts with KKR's Cameron Green acquisition. Here is a look at their strongest XIs.

The 19th edition of the IPL will feature seismic shifts in power dynamics. Cameron Green’s record-shattering INR 25.20 crore acquisition by Kolkata Knight Riders epitomises an auction defined by audacious handles and surgical precision. RCB, having finally exorcised with minimal squad disruption, a testament to continuity’s triumph over perpetual reinvention.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the IPL title for the first time in franchise history with a six-run win over Punjab Kings.(ANI)

Chennai Super Kings, conversely, have invested INR 28.40 crore in uncapped Indians, while Mumbai Indians have extracted maximum value from a minimal purse. The Gujarat Titans stand armed with one of the most complete rosters, Lucknow Super Giants boast Pant’s explosive captaincy, and Rajasthan Royals look to reset after letting Sanju Samson go.

What emerges is a tournament where tactical philosophy supersedes star accumulation. As March 26 approaches, ten meticulously constructed XIs prepare for cricket’s richest prize, each convinced their blueprint holds championship secrets.

Chennai Super Kings

Strongest playing 12: Ayush Mhatre, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sarfaraz Khan/Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis (o), Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, MS Dhoni (wk), Akeal Hosein (o), Noor Ahmad (o), Nathan Ellis (o), Khaleel Ahmed.

MS Dhoni has received captaincy of CSK once again after the injury to Ruturaj Gaikwad.(PTI)

CSK have moved away from their traditional trust on experienced names. They are trying to build for the future while trying to leave an impact on the present. Sarfaraz Khan may be used as the experienced middle-order batter who can handle spin, while Kartik Sharma used occasionally as the middle-overs enforcer. The management might also look to rotate between Rahul Chahar and Prashant Veer, depending on the conditions. However, the team looks seriously short of dependable options in the death overs, barring Nathan Ellis.

Delhi Capitals

Strongest playing 12: Abhishek Porel (wk), Ben Duckett (o), KL Rahul, Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs (o), David Miller (o), Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Mitchell Starc (o), Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan/Auqib Nabi

Abhishek Porel might continue opening for the Capitals with their new acquisition of Ben Duckett, even though there is Prithvi Shaw in the squad. By mid-tournament they might look to try out Shaw, depending on how the season is going for them. Besides that the playing XI looks more or less settled, the only area where they can tinker is playing two of the three Indian pacers in Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan and Aquib Nabi.

Gujarat Titans

Strongest playing 12: Shubman Gill (c), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (o) (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Jason Holder (o), Rashid Khan (o), Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada (o), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Sai Kishore

The only area that the Titans would be looking to work out is to fill the gap created by the trading of Jason Holder. They can alternate between Jason Holder and Glenn Phillips as per the conditions and demands of the game along the tournament.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Strongest Playing 12: Rachin Ravindra (o), Cameron Green (o), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine (o), Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Matheesha Pathirana (o)

Cameron Green was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for a record-breaking ₹25.20 crore after bidding war at IPL players' auction in Abu Dhabi(PTI)

With Cameron Green coming in place of Andre Russell, the KKR might need a bit of time to work around and find their best possible combination. Looking at the squad, they will probably go with an overseas opening pair, while demoting Sunil Narine back down the order. The other thing that would be interesting to see is who of Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman gets the go in the majority of the tournament.

Lucknow Super Giants

Strongest Playing 12: Mitchell Marsh (o), Aiden Markram (o), Nicholas Pooran (o), Rishabh Pant (c) (wk), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Anrich Nortje (o), Avesh Khan, Digvesh Rathi

The Lucknow Super Giants would be looking to find their ideal playing XI as soon as possible at the start of the tournament. The ideal would be to go with an overseas top-order, with Rishabh Pant providing solidity at number four. One more aspect would be to find the perfect working combination around Shabhaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Anrich Nortje.

Mumbai Indians

Strongest Playing 12: Ryan Rickelton (o) (wk)/Quinton de Kock (o) (wk), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford (o), Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner (o), Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar, Mayank Markande, Trent Boult (o)

The Mumbai Indians looked the most sorted squad going into the auction. They have the answers ready for most of the slots. One of the questions would be who opens with Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock or Ryan Rickelton. The other answer they would be looking for is the frontline spinner problem they had in the last season. They have Ghazanfar in the side but for that they might have to rest either Santner or Boult. The management will be keen on sorting these puzzles early in the season.

Punjab Kings

Strongest Playing 12: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (c), Mitchell Owen (o), Marcus Stoinis (o), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen (o), Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Lockie Ferguson (o)

The runners up from the last edition, they have a powerpacked batting order and a squad that is mostly suited to their philosophy of aggressive cricket. However, who their four overseas picks and how they slot them in will be interesting to see.

Rajasthan Royals

Strongest playing 12: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer (o), Sam Curran (o), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Jofra Archer (o), Nandre Burger (o), Tushar Deshpande, Vignesh Puthur/Sushant Mishra

The Royals have a lot to sort. For starters they have to find the perfect leadership candidate. Then they have to find the winning combination with Sam Curran and Ravindra Jadeja being a part of it while not showing over dependency on their two explosive openers.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Strongest playing 12: Phil Salt (o) (wk), Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma, Tim David (o), Romario Shepherd (o), Krunal Pandya, John Hazlewood (o), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Mangesh Yadav/Yash Dayal

This is a well sorted and already complete playing XI. The only thing could be for them to find a way to fit Venkatesh Iyer in. Barring that Yash Dayal plays if he is allowed to participate, else RCB might look to give Mangesh Yadav a go.

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Strongest Playing 12: Travis Head (o), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen (o), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Liam Livingstone (o), Aniket Verma, Pat Cummins (o), Harshal Patel, Zeeshan Ansari, Ehsan Malinga/Brydon Carse/Jack Edwards (o), Harsh Dubey/Krains Fuletra

SRH bought Liam Livingstone in IPL 2026 auction.(ANI)

The batting for the Sunrisers Hyderabad looks strong and the addition of Liam Livingstone only adds to the firepower. However, it is their bowling they have to work around. For starters they need to identify their fourth overseas player and also lock in a spin partner for Zeeshan Ansari. The fact is they will be piling on the runs even in this season, it will be interesting to see whether they are able to defend what they put on the board.