Indian Premier League Team-by-Team Guide: Can Kohli's RCB go back-to-back?

Mumbai Indians - 7/24.50 to win IPL 2026

2025 finish: 4
Batting rank: 6
Bowling rank: 1
Top bat % last 2 years: Suryakumar 28
Top bowler % last 2 years: Bumrah 29

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.

Possible bat first XI: Rohit, Rickleton, Tilak, Sky, Hardik, Jacks, Dhir (Markande sub), Shardul, Boult, Bumrah, Ghazanfar

Analysis:  Had Bumrah been fit for the first four games MI would have almost certainly got the extra win required to have made top spot. Their net run rate was the best in the competition. they are the right favourites and a strong season is expected. Once again they seem unbothered by hiring international spin class but allah Ghazanfar could do damage if picked. The inclusion of Quinton de Kock does set alarm bells ringing as it's a waste of wager in an area where they overstocked.

Best play: A swerve is as good as a win so it is worth noting the horrific value Trent Boult represents on top bowler wiht a return rate of 9% in the last two seasons.

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru 5/16.00

2024 finish: Winners
Batting rank: 7
Bowling rank: 2
Top bat % last 2 years: Kohli 40
Top bowler % last 2 years: Hazlewood 33

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.

Possible bat first XI: Kohli, Salt, Bethell, Patidar, Paddikal (sub Yash Dayal), Jitesh, David, Venkatesh, Krunal, Kumar, Hazlewood

Analysis: RCB were the antidote to the glitz, chaos and carnage. They were methodical and did just enough to get over the line, correctly recognising that bowling economy was the route to glory. Josh Hazlewood was crucial in delivering on that strategy. But he will miss the "first few games" which is worryingly vague for backers. Only MI and CSK have gone back-to-back. Venkatesh iyer has improved them but one wonders whether they are a really crack unit. 

Best play: When Hazlewood is fit he is performance buy bet, busting the 20.5 line seven in 12 last season.

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Chennai Super Kings 15/28.50

2025 finish: 10
Batting rank: 10
Bowling rank: 5
Top bat % last 2 years: Gaikwad 36
Top bowler % last 2 years: Noor 42

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

Possible bat first XI: Samson, Mhatre, Gaikwad, Brevis, Urvil, Dube, Overton/Akeal, Dhoni (sub in and out Shreyas Gopal), Henry, Noor, Khaleel

Analysis: CSK have added Sanju Samson to try to solve significant strike rate problems. But whether one man can bring the bottom-ranked team from the doldrums to the top four is a major ask. Nathan Ellis has been ruled out of the tournament. Ravi Jadeja and Sam Curran have departed for Royals. the big issue for CSK is their home pitch. It used to be a spinner's paradise. Now they're not so sure. Their historic success has been built on winning home matches on a turning surface. The recruitment suggests a pivot. Too big an ask for the top four this year

Best play: Shivam Dube often makes a late charge for top bat. A solid in-running option considering he wins at better than 4/15.00 and his price will drift quickly in the powerplay. 

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Sunrisers Hyderabad 8/19.00

2025 finish: 6
Batting rank: 3
Bowling rank: 9
Top bat % last 2 years: Abhishek 24
Top bowler % last 2 years: Unadkat 27

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, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Krains Fuletra, Liam Livingstone, Shivam Mavi.

Possible bowl first XI: Head, Abhishek, Ishan, Livingstone, Klaasen, Reddy, Verma, Cummins, Harshal, Unadkat, Ansari (sub in and out Smaran)

Analysis: SRH produced a stinker last season, costing punters a packet at short outright odds. Their star-studded batting flopped. It could be said they were the ultimate one-dimesnional team considering dreadful bowling stats but, in truth, their strike rate didn't return massive scores. They have failed to address their economy rate and it would be a surprise if they were to break into the top four. Perversely not having Pat Cummins available at the start may assist with balance. 

Best play: They may post big scores this time but they are to be taken on to defend them

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Gujarat Titans 8/19.00

2024 finish: 3
Batting rank: 1
Bowling rank: 5
Top bat % last 2 years:Sudharsan 37
Top bowler % last 2 years: Kishore 30

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

Possible bat first XI: Sai, Gill, Buttler, Banton/Phillips, Sundar, Tewatia, Shahrurkh (sub Prasidsh Krishna), Rashid, Rabada, Siraj, Kishore

Analysis: Gujarat should have a real crack at the title this year if they solve one problem: Jos Buttler. Buttler either needs to start quickly or they need to jettison him quickly with Tom Banton and Glenn Phillips both fair starters. That would mean Kagiso Rabada would miss out but that shouldn't be an issue with a strong bowling group. In Krishna-Rashid-Kishore they have a trio who can win them games. 

Best play: Sai Kishore's spin is going to be underrated on the top-bowler market early doors

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Kolkata Knight Riders 9/110.00

2025 finish: 8
Batting rank: 9
Bowling rank: 3
Top bat % last 2 years: Rahane 30
Top bowler % last 2 years: Pathirana 33

Squad: Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, 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

Possible XI: Seifert, Allen, Green/Pathirana, Rahane, Raghuvanshi (sub Umran Malik), Tripathi, Rinku, Ramandeep, Narine, Chakaravarthy, Arora

Analysis: KKR had an issue with hitting last season. have they solved it? Indisputably yes. The capture of new Zealand opening pair Tim Seifert and Finn Allen should revo;lutinise their challenge. The injury to Harsgit Rana may mean that Maheesh Ppathiarana has to play ahead of Cameron Green. 

Best play: KKR should take no prisoners in the powerplay match bets

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Punjab Kings 9/110.00

2025 finish: Runners-up
Batting rank: 2
Bowling rank: 7
Top bat % last 2 years: Prab Singh 28
Top bowler % last 2 years: Arshdeep 33%

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

Possible bat first XI: Prabhsimran, Arya, Shreyas, Shashank, Wadhera, Stoinis, Omarzai, Jansen, Harpreet, Chahal, Arshdeep 

Analysis: Punjab, arguably, should have won their first title instead of RCB. They bossed the ladder and were bossing the final. But they couldn't get over the line. They have retained key domestic talent like Arshdeep Singh, Prab Singh and Yuz Chahal. Priyansh Arya was a major discovery in the top slot. Josh Inglis has left but the batting shouldn't suffer. Punjab should be bang in the mix. 

Best play: Punjab ranked No 1 for sixes hit and were equal first on powerplay with the bat. Backing them to win both markets makes sense on a match-by-match basis.

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Delhi Capitals 10/111.00

2025 finish: 5
Batting rank: 5
Bowling rank: 5
Top bat % last 2 years: Rahul 38
Top bowler % last 2 years: Kuldeep 28

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

Possible bat first XI: Rahul, Nissanka, Porel, Axar, Stubbs, Miller (sub Ngidi), Ashutosh, Vipraj, Kuldeep, Starc, Natarajan

Analysis: Delhi may be the ultimate meh team. Last season they excelled at nothing including six hitting and powerpl\ys (with bat and ball). This season they may struggle to replicate a fifth-placed finish with other teams below them having improved. They could be a franchise which picks three overseas in the starting XI and subs one in. Mitchell Starc's availability is an issue but he can be pricey. They're a team to expect late runs from given they are well-stocked for power at the lower order, starting with Tristan Stubbs.

Best play: The Kotla is a ground reliable for exterme overs on runs

Best play: Rahul is not a fast starter, Fraser-McGurk out of nick, so the opposition in a six-over match bet will appeal.

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Lucknow Super Giants 12/113.00

2025 finish: 7
Batting rank: 4
Bowling rank: 10
Top bat % last 2 years: Pooran 32
Top bowler % last 2 years: Rathvi 30

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

Possible XI: Markram, Marsh, Pooran, Badoni, Pant, Samad (sub Mayank Yadav), Shahbaz, Hasaaranga, Shami, Avesh, Rathi 

Analysis: LSG had to address their bowling economy ratin. Their answer was to sign injury-prone Mohammad Shami and Wanindu Hasaranga. It is a major gamble and one we suggest you don't get behind. They will go extreely hard up top with the bat but, ultimately, keeping things tight in the field is likely to be their deathknell. 

Best play: Away from home on good pitches expect them to conde 200-plus

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Rajasthan Royals 13/114.00

2025 finish: 9
Batting rank: 5
Bowling rank: 9
Top bat % last 2 years: Jaiswal 27
Top bowler % last 2 years: xDeshpande 21

Squad: Ravindra Jadeja, Donovan Ferreira, Sandeep Sharma, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 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.

Possible bat first XI: Jaiswal, Suryvanshi, Hetmyer, Jurel, Parag, Ferreira, S Dubey (sub A Milne), Jadeja, Bishnoi , Archer, Sandeep 

Analysis: Royals had to solve bowling economy. Pairing Ravi Jadeja and Ravi Bishnoi should give them eight overs costing little more than eight each. The injury to Sam Curran is a major blow, however, as he balances the side. They will surely recruit to fill the void. Waiting to see who they get before betting a wrong price is the advice. 

Best play: if they can find a Sam Curran replacement worthy of this tournament then they are underrated on the outright. 

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