How do all teams look after IPL 2026 Auction: Complete Squad Analysis & Probable playing XII of CSK, MI, GT, RCB, DC, PBKS, KKR, LSG, SRH and RR.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction, leading up to the 19th edition, concluded on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. All 10 franchises spent a grand total of INR 215.45 crores on 77 players, including 29 overseas recruits.
Cameron Green was the headline buy with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquiring the Australia all-rounder for INR 25.20 crore. He became the most expensive foreign player in the league’s history.
Let’s delve into squad analysis and probable starting XIIs of all franchises ahead of IPL 2026
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Chennai Super Kings entered the mini-auction with the second-biggest purse of INR 43.40 crore. They spent a massive chunk of it on two uncapped players, Prashant Veer and Karthik Sharma – INR 14.2 crores each. This could be an indication of both finding their places in the starting XII.
Meanwhile, they also picked Akeal Hossein and Matt Henry. They can use them smartly depending on the surface. However, there is inexperience in the middle order along with MS Dhoni’s form, which has been hot and cold in the last few editions.
CSK Probable starting XI:
Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Karthik Sharma, Prashant Veer, MS Dhoni (wk.), Nathan Ellis, Matt Henry/Akeal Hossein, Noor Ahmed
Impact Player: Khaleel Ahmed
Read More: Which team has the best bowling arsenal after IPL 2026 Auction?
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who went as high as INR 23.50 crore for Venkatesh Iyer last year, finally signed the all-rounder for INR 7 crore in this year’s auction. He will be their solution at number three, replacing Devdutt Padikkal in the XII. The management also picked New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy as cover for Josh Hazlewood, who has been injury-prone for the last couple of years.
Bengaluru also got Mangesh Yadav, the left-arm quick, as a back-up for Yash Dayal, whose last competitive cricket match was the IPL 2025 final.
RCB Probable starting XI:
Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk.), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood
Impact player- Yash Dayal/Mangesh Yadav
Read More: Is Venkatesh Iyer a steal at INR 7 crore for RCB? What will be his role?
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Sunrisers Hyderabad will most-likely be dissatisfied with their auction strategy. Their biggest purchase was of Liam Livingstone for INR 13 crore, pretty late in the day. They signed plenty of domestic India bowlers, but haven’t filled the void of Mohammed Shami, who was traded out.
Moreover, they didn’t go high in the bidding war for either Ravi Bishnoi or Rahul Chahar. That again leaves them to choose between Harsh Dubey and Krains Fuletra for the spin department.
SRH Probable starting XI:
Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klassen, Aniket Verma, Liam Livingstone/Jack Edwards, Pat Cummins (c), Harsh Dubey/Krains Fuletra, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi/Zeeshan Ansari
Impact Player: Jaydev Unadkat
Read More: TATA IPL 2026 Auction Live Updates: Players Sold, Unsold, Purse Remaining & Full Team Details
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Mumbai Indians came into the auction with a stable squad and were the least-busy side. They bid for just ten players, one of them being Cameron Green. Quinton de Kock was their steal of the auction for a price of INR 1 crore. He can now reunite with Rohit Sharma at the opening spot.
They also signed the left-arm spin all-rounder, Atharva Ankolekar, at his base price. Earlier, the five-time champions had traded in Sherfane Rutherford and Shardul Thakur to strengthen the side.
MI Probable starting XI:
Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk.), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Sherfane Rutherford/Mitchell Santner/Corbin Bosch, Shardul Thakur/Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande/Atharva Ankolekar, Allah Ghazanfar
Impact player: Trent Boult
Read More: Which team has the best batting firepower after IPL 2026 Auction?
Gujarat Titans (GT)
Gujarat Titans also went with a small purse and mostly looked to bid for backup options. Their biggest buy was Jason Holder, who will compete with Glenn Phillips for a spot in the starting XII. In Tom Banton and Luke Wood, they now have decent replacements for Jos Buttler and Kagiso Rabada, respectively.
However, they still don’t have the back-ups for Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan. Although, they may use Kumar Kushagra at number five late into the season.
GT Probable starting XI:
Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk.), Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan/Kumar Kushagra, Glenn Phillips/Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj
Impact player: Prasidh Krishna
Read More: CSK go big for Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma; bag them for INR 14.2 cr. each
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Kolkata Knight Riders, as anticipated, successfully signed the Australia all-rounder, Cameron Green, for an overseas record of INR 25.20 crore. He will fill the void of Andre Russell, who made his move to the coaching staff. One of the two Kiwi wicket-keeper openers, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, will get their place in the starting XII.
Kolkata also spent INR 18 crore for Matheesha Pathirana, giving a clear signal of making him their death overs specialist. For his backup, they also added Mustafizur Rahman. However, their team combination will depend massively on whether Sunil Narine opens or bats at number eight.
KKR Probable starting XI:
Tim Seifert/Finn Allen (wk.), Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi/ Rahul Tripathi, Cameron Green, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Matheesha Pathirana
Impact player: Varun Chakravarthy
Read More: Matheesha Pathirana goes to KKR for INR 18 crore; Have the eastern franchise made the right move?
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, the Rajasthan Royals traded in two special all-rounders in the squad- Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. They also went ahead with Ravi Bishnoi for INR 7.20 crore to fill up their spin department. Moreover, they kept the backup options in Yash Raj Punja and Vignesh Puthur.
For Jofra Archer’s replacement, the inaugural champions brought Adam Milne. However, they may feel a little thin in the all-rounders’ department.
RR Probable starting XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Lhuan-dre-Pretorious/Aman Rao, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk.), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran/Nandre Burger, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande/Kuldeep Sen
Impact player: Sandeep Sharma
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Punjab Kings hardly lifted the paddle for most of the auction. And they hardly needed to that, given their settled squad and playing XII. The only real gap was Josh Inglis, whom they released due to his availability for four games in IPL 2026. That slot has gone to Australia’s young spin all-rounder, Cooper Connolly.
Punjab also signed Ben Dwarshuis as the back-up option for injury-prone Lockie Ferguson. Praveen Dubey comes in as the cover of premier leg-spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal.
PBKS Probable starting XI:
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk.), Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis/Azmatullah Omarzai, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson/Xavier Bartlett
Impact player: Yuzvendra Chahal
Read More: Surprise Snubs: Notable unsold players at IPL 2026 Auction
Delhi Capitals (DC)
Delhi Capitals perhaps ended the IPL 2026 auction as the most happy side. Despite a comparatively low purse, they filled the gaps beautifully. In Prithvi Shaw, Ben Duckett, and Pathum Nissanka, they got multiple opening options with KL Rahul.
In the bowling department, they added Auqib Nabi alongside Lungi Ngidi and Kyle Jamieson. One of these three can pair with Mitchell Starc and T Natarajan in the playing XII.
DC Probable starting XI:
KL Rahul (wk.), Ben Duckett/Prithvi Shaw, Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), David Miller, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Auqib Nabi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc
Impact Player: T Natarajan
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
Lucknow Super Giants made several purchases in the IPL 2026 auction. Late in the evening, they signed Josh Inglis for INR 8.6 crore, despite the overseas player being available for only four games of the campaign. Their best pick was Wanindu Hasaranga, who fills the gap of Ravi Bishnoi and adds batting depth.
Ahead of the auction, they traded in Mohammad Shami, who will take care of the powerplay and death overs. Lucknow hope for a fully fit Mayank Yadav in the IPL 2026 as his probable backup, Anrich Nortje, also has the same issue.
LSG Probable starting XI:
Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (c & wk.), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Wanindu Hasaranga/Anrich Notrje, Shahbaz Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Mohammad Shami, Mayank Yadav
Impact player: Digvesh Rathi
Read More: Top 5 value buys at IPL 2026 Auction
