Another season of an Indian Premier League (IPL) is done. It was a similar script for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) who have made it back-to-back. In footballing terms, their story is quite similar to that of PSG, who recently basked in European glory once more. Now as the dust settles on IPL 2026, we can surely say it was a wild ride.
We saw a 15-year-old kid rewrite the batting record books, a historic back-to-back championship defense, and top-notch current-generation bowling stars align with their best forms. This season will also be remembered for Jasprit Bumrah’s rare unseccusful campaign but that’s a different talking point.
If you had to build one unbeatable squad from the tournament’s absolute best performers, who makes the cut? We’ve crunched the numbers, weighed the impact, and finalized the ultimate IPL 2026 Team of the Tournament.
IPL 2026 Team of the Tournament
| Player | IPL 2026 Team | Core IPL 2026 Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Rajasthan Royals | 776 runs, 237.30 SR, 72 sixes (Orange Cap & MVP) |
| Shubman Gill | Gujarat Titans | 732 runs, 163.02 SR |
| Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 675 runs, 56.25 Avg, 165.85 SR |
| Rajat Patidar (C) | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 501 runs at 192.69 SR |
| Heinrich Klaasen (WK) | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 624 runs, 160 SR |
| Donovan Ferreira | Rajasthan Royals | 317 at 179.09 SR, 255 SR at death |
| Krunal Pandya | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 226 runs, 14 wickets, 8.41 Econ |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 28 wickets, 7.95 Econ |
| Kagiso Rabada | Gujarat Titans | 29 wickets, 9.68 Econ (Purple Cap) |
| Jofra Archer | Rajasthan Royals | 25 wickets, 9.31 Econ |
| Rasikh Salam | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 19 wickets, 21.32 Avg, 9.45 Econ |
| Washington Sundar (Impact) | Gujarat Titans | 377 runs at 150.19 SR |
Sooryavanshi opens with Shubman Gill
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the undisputed fairy tale of the tournament. At just 15 years old, Sooryavanshi completely shattered the ceiling of what we thought a teenager could do. After a season of many highs and only a few lows, he smashed an astonishing 776 runs at a mind-bending 237.30 strike rate to comfortably take home both the Orange Cap and the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Never in history had an Orange Cap winner had a strike rate close to Sooryavanshi’s.
Undoubtedly, the prodigal son had the best season any batter has ever had in an IPL season. He absolutely decimated bowling attacks by hitting 72 sixes across the season, earning himself the Super Striker car while still being too young to legally drive it on roads!
While Shubman Gill played an IPL season for the first time as India’s ODI and Test captain. Guess what, he continued with his immense consistency. He gave us one of the finest pure-striking masterclasses of the summer with a breathtaking 104 off just 53 balls* against the Royals in Qualifier 2. While his opening partner Sai Sudharsan misses out, Gill has made it to this team as his strike rate in wins was 171.33.
Virat Kohli, Patidar and Klaasen form middle-order
Since there were too many openers who did well, we had to move Virat Kohli at number three. After all, he has been there, done that. But in this season, we witnessed a massive evolution in Kohli. After dominating the tournament since its inception, it was a moment made in heaven that he got to finish the IPL 2026 with a superb six and take RCB to their second title. Kohli scored the most runs in wins (581).
Once again, Kohli unlocked an entirely new tier of intent as he struck runs at 165.84 this season, easily his best-ever. Despite that, his average of 56.25 just didn’t go down. In the powerplay overs, he struck at almost 175, and he was basically unbeaten against >145 km/h deliveries for the whole season. His consistency, this time with more aggressiveness, sorted a lot of things for RCB. In the final against GT, a 37-year-old Kohli brought out a 25-ball fifty, the fastest of his entire storied IPL career. He also milked Kagiso Rabada for a record 88 runs across the tournament.
Rajat Patidar and Heinrich Klaasen are perfect middle-order bats here. Tasked with keeping the RCB machine unified, he became the first captain in IPL history to secure championship trophies in each of his first two seasons at the helm. He also reminded everyone of his quality by hammering a merciless 93 off 33 balls* against Gujarat late in May. Against spinners, he had operated at a strike rate of 206.67.
Meanwhile, Klaasen produced one of the best seasons by an overseas middle-order batter. Only AB de Villiers scored more runs as a non-opener in an IPL season. Klaasen hit 624 runs and saved SRH on many occasions. He hit six half-centuries, five of which came in victories.
Why Donovan Ferriera and Krunal Pandya?
One of the most underrated picks in this team is Donovan Ferreira, who was traded back to the Royals from Delhi. It turned out to be a masterstroke from RR as they finally found their finisher after years of setbacks. He was even underutilised some times, as RR used him for a specific role. Thus, he faced 177 balls, in which he hammered 317. Incredibly, he was a tormentor in death overs, squashing 161 runs (the most) at an unimaginable strike rate of 255.6. At Qualifier 2, it was his superb cameo of 38* off 11 that blew GT away.
Every championship squad needs a tactical glue guy, and Krunal Pandya is the gold standard. Silently picking up 14 wickets and managing a massive load through the middle overs with an 8.42 economy rate, he gave RCB the flexibility to always stay a step ahead of the opposition’s batting order. His bouncers, wily bowling and Jos Buttler’s stump dismissal off a fast yorker were things that only senior Pandya can do.
With this latest title victory, Krunal preserves a flawless, astonishing 5-0 win-loss record in IPL finals across his career.
Bhuvi, Rabada, Archer – the pace battery
Picking the three best pacers was simple. All three stood out. At 36 years old, Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced a defensive and attacking bowling clinic that left purists in awe. Falling just one short of the top spot with 28 wickets, he proved that intelligent execution will always outlive raw, mindless pace. He didn’t go for massive swing movements. Bhuvi is now experienced enough to know what lines to bowl to each batter.
In this era where openers go gung-ho, Bhuvi’s economy in the powerplay was just 6.94. Truly outwordly.
Meanwhile, Jofra Archer and Kagiso Rabada dished out immense pace but their disciplined bowling took them to greater heights this year. Rabada ran through top orders with ferocious pace to secure the Purple Cap with 29 wickets across 17 encounters. After a couple of injury-interrupted years that broke his rhythm, Archer returned to his absolute terrifying best. Operating with a heavy ball and an effortlessly mean bouncer, he finished third in the tournament charts with 25 wickets from 16 games.
Rabada equaled the all-time IPL record by picking up an unbelievable 17 wickets strictly within the Powerplay over the course of the season. Meanwhile, Archer carried RR on multiple occasions with his bowling and showed why he is considered as one of the most dangerous pacers when in full flow.
Rasikh and Washington Sundar close out Best IPL 2026 XI
At number 11 is an interesting choice in Rasikh Salam. Had we not used four overseas players already, the spot would’ve belonged to Jason Holder. Nonetheless, Rasikh was the silent performer for RCB. He didn’t start from the onset as RCB gave some chances to Abhinandan Singh but the former MI pacer made his space and did show his class.
Initially drafted as a developmental project, Rasikh stepped up brilliantly when injuries hit the squad. He wrapped up a life-changing campaign with 19 wickets in just 12 matches. It might sound fake but he basically outbowled Josh Hazlewood this season. Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and Sunil Narine all had fewer wickets than Rasikh. On the night of the grand final against GT, the youngster didn’t flinch, registering a magnificent match-winning spell of 3 for 27 to lift the trophy.
Having Wasington Sundar waiting in the dugout as an Impact option is an absolute tactical luxury. Functioning primarily as a flexible batting floater for the Titans this year, he provided the number four option by racking up 377 runs, including 3 half-centuries. Due to Sundar’s batting, GT were able to play Jason Holder without missing Glenn Phillips. Although they didn’t use Sundar’s bowling, he can be a good powerplay specialist spinner.
Not many would know but Sundar scored the joint-most runs (161) in the death overs alongside Ferriera. Sundar’s strike rate of 185 in death overs was a huge plus for GT as well, who were again dependent on their top three.
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