IPL 2026: After RCB’S back-to-back titles, here’s TOI’s team of the season | Cricket News
IPL-2026 was a season of extremes. A 15-year-old rewrote batting records as if they were practice drills, Virat Kohli discovered new gears at 37 and Rajat Patidar joined an exclusive club of captains with back-to-back titles. Batters routinely made 200-plus totals look inadequate, yet a handful of bowlers continued to find ways to dominate in an increasingly unforgiving format. Here is TOI’s Team of the Tournament that captures the defining stories and performances.Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Rajasthan Royals)Inns: 16 | Runs: 776 | SR: 237.30 | Avg: 48.50 | 1×100/5×50There was barely a debate to be had. The 15-year-old prodigy didn’t just top the batting charts; he lapped the field. By the end of the season, he had scored 44 more runs than anyone else, with a mind-boggling strike-rate of 237.30, and cleared the ropes 29 more times than his closest challenger. The numbers alone were outrageous. The innings behind them were even better. Whether judged by volume, impact or sheer audacity, IPL-2026 belonged to him.Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)Inns: 16 | Runs: 675 | SR: 165.84 | Avg: 56.25 | 1×100/5×50At one end of the spectrum stood a teenager redefining possibility. At the other stood the legend, proving reinvention has no age limit. The numbers were vintage — more than 600 runs for a fourth straight season. The approach, however, was anything but vintage. Due to his crunch knocks in Qualifier 1 and the final, he narrowly edged out Shubman Gill for the opening slot.Ishan Kishan (wk) (Sunrisers Hyderabad)Inns: 15 | Runs: 602 | SR: 182.42 | Avg: 40.13 | 6×50 | Ct/St: 9/1The finest IPL season for the keeper-bat. It was not defined merely by the weight of runs he scored, but by when he chose to score them. Six fifties decorated his season, but more importantly, they arrived when SRH needed them the most. He finished among the tournament’s most influential batters.Rajat Patidar (c) (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)Inns: 15 | Runs: 501 | SR: 192.69 | Avg: 41.75 | 5×50After leading RCB to a second successive IPL title, he found himself in elite company alongside MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma as the only captains to defend the trophy successfully. With the bat, he was explosive. Only Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma hit more sixes than him, and among players who crossed 500 runs, only that explosive duo scored at a quicker rate.Heinrich Klaasen (Sunrisers Hyderabad)Inns: 15 | Runs: 624 | SR: 160.00 | Avg: 48.00 | 6×50Achieved something unprecedented in IPL-2026: more than 600 runs from the middle order, a feat no batter in a major T20 tournament had managed before while batting outside the top three. He crossed the 30-run mark in 11 of his 15 innings, often taking on the burden of holding together the SRH middle-order.Nitish Kumar Reddy (Sunrisers Hyderabad)Mat: 14 | Runs: 302 | SR: 171.59 | Avg: 30.20 | Wkts: 8 | Econ: 10.41The finisher’s spot went to the SRH allrounder. While his strike-rate sat marginally behind names like Donovan Ferreira and Tim David, what stood out was how frequently he made a difference. Nearly every other innings was a meaningful cameo. His contribution with the ball was equally valuable.Krunal Pandya (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)Mat: 16 | Runs: 226 | SR: 145.80 | Avg: 37.66 | Wkts: 14 | Econ: 8.41Not the eye-catching numbers, but his season was built on timely interventions. Whenever he was asked to step up, he seemed to find a way. His economy rate reflected control. In a team full of stars, he quietly kept turning up whenever RCB needed something done.Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders)Mat: 13 | Wkts: 15 | Econ: 6.64 | Avg: 22.60 | SR: 20.4In a season where bowlers often felt like supporting actors in a batting spectacle, the KKR legend remained one of the few who wasn’t hit around the park. While teams scored at nearly 10 an over across the competition, Narine’s economy rate stood at a remarkable 6.64. Five times in 13 spells he conceded at under a run-a-ball.Jofra Archer (Rajasthan Royals)Mat: 16 | Wkts: 25 | Econ: 9.31 | Avg: 22.36 | SR: 14.4Finished with 11 wickets more than any other Rajasthan bowler and carried the attack for much of the campaign. His impact was felt early. He picked up 14 Powerplay wickets, making him one of the most dangerous new-ball operators in the IPL.Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)Mat: 16 | Wkts: 28 | Econ: 7.95 | Avg: 17.89 | SR: 13.5Few players have enjoyed a full-circle IPL journey quite like him. He claimed 17 wickets in the Powerplay at under seven runs an over and added nine more at the death. More importantly, he delivered in the biggest moments. The years may have passed, but his knack for deciding big matches remains intact.Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans)Mat: 17 | Wkts: 29 | Econ: 9.68 | Avg: 21.58 | SR: 13.3Dominated the first six overs, picking up 20 wickets with the new ball and giving Gujarat Titans a decisive advantage. Alongside Mohammed Siraj, he formed a devastating opening combination that played a central role in GT’s run to the final. He won the Purple Cap this season and became the fourth bowler after Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dwayne Bravo and Harshal Patel to win it multiple times.IMPACT SUBS:Washington Sundar (GT)Mat: 17 | Runs: 377 | SR: 150.2 | Avg: 37.7 | Wkts: 1 | Econ: 9.1Rasikh Salam Dar (RCB)Mat: 12 | Wkts: 19 | Econ: 9.4 | Avg: 21.3 | SR: 13.5Prince Yadav (LSG)Mat: 14 | Wkts: 16 | Econ: 8.8 | Avg: 28.7 | SR: 19.5Tim David (RCB)Inns: 15 | Runs: 305 | SR: 188.2 | Avg: 33.9 | 1x 50
