IPL 2026 Starts March 26 — Squads, Schedule, Biggest Buys & Who's Winning It
MUMBAI, March 9, 2026 — The World Cup is done. The confetti has barely settled. And in 17 days, 10 franchises, 200+ players, and 500 million viewers get back to the real business.
IPL 2026. March 26. Let's get into it.
The Auction in 60 Seconds
The Abu Dhabi auction in December threw up some genuinely big numbers. [web:306]
Cameron Green → KKR: ₹25.20 crore. Most expensive player. An all-rounder who hits it 90 metres and bowls 140 kph. KKR fans are already dreaming. [web:304]
Matheesha Pathirana → KKR: ₹18 crore. The slinger who terrorised batters at CSK. Now he's KKR's. Death-over bowlers at that quality don't come cheap.
Liam Livingstone → SRH: ₹13 crore. Put a 360-degree power hitter in the most batting-friendly franchise in the IPL. What could go wrong for everyone else? [web:304]
Prashant Veer + Kartik Sharma → CSK: ₹14.20 crore each. Two uncapped Indians. Both going to CSK for the same price as established internationals. Dhoni clearly saw something.
All 10 Teams — One Line Each
| Team | Captain | The One Player to Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Mumbai Indians | Rohit Sharma | Bumrah. Always Bumrah. |
| Chennai Super Kings | Ruturaj Gaikwad | Dhoni. Still. Every time. |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | Venkatesh Iyer | Cameron Green — ₹25 cr needs to show up |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Virat Kohli | Kohli. Motivated. In Bengaluru. Say no more. |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | Pat Cummins | Abhishek Sharma — World Cup hero, home crowd |
| Delhi Capitals | KL Rahul | Axar Patel — knows Kotla like his living room |
| Rajasthan Royals | Sanju Samson | Samson. Post-World Cup final 89. Peak form. |
| Lucknow Super Giants | Nicholas Pooran | Anrich Nortje — raw pace nobody has faced this IPL |
| Punjab Kings | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal — 200 IPL wickets incoming |
| Gujarat Titans | Shubman Gill | Rashid Khan — still the best spinner in T20 cricket |
[web:304][web:310]
Who's Actually Going to Win?
Honest assessment — five teams can win this.
Mumbai Indians are the bookies' pick. Deepest squad. Best death bowler on the planet. Six World Cup champions in one dressing room.
Sunrisers Hyderabad have the most dangerous batting lineup on flat pitches. Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Abhishek Sharma in the same team is basically unfair.
KKR are the defending champions and got even stronger. Cameron Green + Pathirana + Varun Chakaravarthy is a combination that wins titles.
Rajasthan Royals have the best player in world T20 cricket right now leading them — Sanju Samson fresh off the greatest innings in World Cup Final history. Jaiswal is playing some of the best cricket of his life.
Chennai Super Kings are always here. Always. Dhoni + Jadeja in crunch moments is still the IPL's most reliable closing formula.
Schedule & How to Watch
First match: March 26, 7:30 PM IST Playoffs: May 20–24 Final: May 26 Watch free: JioCinema app — all matches, no subscription needed TV: Star Sports (Hindi + English)
74 matches. 10 teams. One trophy.
The only question is whose celebration is bigger than India's World Cup party last night. Seventeen days to find out.
