The 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League has given us some exciting moments all throughout the season with some eye-catching performances. All 10 teams went into the tournament with seasoned veterans and some exciting young talents. Before the start of the season, the fate of the teams was analysed by the experts after the auction itself. The combinations that each team has undertaken highlight a unique strategy, with some teams building around their existing core and others looking to rebuild. As the 74-match window of the season came to an end, the Royal Champions Bengaluru were crowned champions for the second time in a row.
In the 2026 season of the IPL, there were certain teams like the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Gujarat Titans, who were consistent from the beginning. On the other hand, teams like the Punjab Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders had a season that could be split into two halves. Some of the teams were heavily focused on the performance of just one or two players, and in this format of the game, the collective performance of the team holds the ultimate priority. Here are the ratings of all 10 teams in the IPL 2026:
10) Lucknow Super Giants - 2/5
The Lucknow Super Giants were considered one of the teams to look out for before the season, but they failed miserably. They had arguably the best pace bowling unit of the season with the likes of Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav. But their batters disappointed them big time, with just Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis stepping up in some of the games. Things would have been entirely different if at least a couple of their batters were in form, but unfortunately, things ended in the worst way possible for LSG, with just 4 wins in 10 games.
9) Mumbai Indians - 2/5
The Mumbai Indians were yet another team that looked like a dangerous team on paper with the strongest Indian core in the tournament. However, they were gravely affected by the poor form of their frontline players such as Jasprit Bumrah, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya. Rohit Sharma was sidelined early on in the season with an injury, and Mumbai were on a losing streak with forced captaincy changes mid-season as well. They too managed to get just 4 wins in 10 games and they would be shattered with the result.
8) Chennai Super Kings - 2.5/5
The Chennai Super Kings would have been hopeful of a better finish to their season, as they were unable to finish in the top 4. The five-time champions had a terrible campaign last time, and this time, it could be considered better as they have unearthed quite a few talented youngsters. Their team was heavily dependent on the success of Sanju Samson was a positive result and that’s not the kind of performance needed for glory. To cut CSK some slack, another problem that affected them was injuries to their key players in crucial stages. CSK won 6 games out of their 14 games, handing them an early exit in the season.
7)Kolkata Knight Riders - 3/5
The Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a nightmare start in IPL 2026, with 6 losses in the first 7 games, including a washout against Punjab Kings. Just when KKR needed one loss to be eliminated from the playoff race, they opened their account with a win against the Rajasthan Royals. They almost pulled off a miraculous comeback as they won 6 games out of their last 7 games, and the character they showed was simply world-class. They finished just above CSK with 13 points, and they will be proud of the way they fought back in the campaign.
6)Delhi Capitals - 3/5
The Delhi Capitals were a side that got the best start possible with three wins on the trot, credit to some match-winning knocks from Sameer Rizvi. But their dream run didn’t last long as they soon started to fall apart, as they even failed to defend a total of 264 against the Punjab Kings. KL Rahul was one of the very few positives they had in the season, as they kept on shuffling their resources in search of solutions for problems they found difficult to solve. They ended up with 7 wins from 14 games, and it would be a massive letdown considering the start they got.
5)Punjab Kings - 3/5
The Punjab Kings pulled off the absolute impossible for the wrong seasons in this edition of the IPL. They were at the top of the table for much of the season as they were unbeaten in the first 7 games. Their qualification chances came to a point where it was theirs to throw away, and that is exactly what they did. They went on to lose 6 games in a row, and that opened up the room for a late entry from the Rajasthan Royals into the top 4. Consistency was their major issue and they simply couldn’t tackle it. They finished in 5th place with 7 wins to their name and this would be a campaign to forget for the Punjab Kings.
4)Rajasthan Royals - 3.5/5
The Rajasthan Royals did a decent job to finish in the top 4 and it really didn’t seem like they deserved much more than that. The T20 format is one of those games where you need all your players to step up on any given match day and that kind of responsibility has been lacking for the side. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finished as the highest run-scorer in the league and to know that, he didn’t receive much support from the others would be gut-wrenching for him. They were heavily dependent on just one or two players all throughout, and they weren’t enough. Rajasthan Royals were eliminated by the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2, and they will be looking to bounce back in the next season.
3)Sunrisers Hyderabad - 4/5
The Sunrisers Hyderabad were the only team that was well-deserving of the trophy, other than the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. They were off to a poor start in the season, but their decision to change the face of the bowling attack with the inclusion of Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain worked wonders for the side. Their batting unit was quite consistent, with the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen dominating the run-scoring charts. The men in orange were eliminated in the Eliminator 1 by the Rajasthan Royals.
2)Gujarat Titans - 4/5
The Gujarat Titans were the runners-up in the tournament, and they were a brilliant side right from the beginning. Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharshan were constantly up there in the Orange Cap leaderboard, and their partnerships proved to be the winning formula for the side. Their pace bowling duo of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada was another key reason for their success. Rabada won the Purple Cap award with 28 wickets to his name, and he was outstanding with the ball. They weren’t exactly a well-rounded side, but their players performed when it mattered the most.
1)Royal Challengers Bengaluru - 5/5
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru were crowned champions for the second time in a row and their authority was there for everyone to see throughout IPL 2026. Rajat Patidar led his side with authority and much of the runs were piled up by the skipper, Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal. None of the injuries to their core players affected the side as Jacob Duffy filled in the shoes of Josh Hazlewood early on. Venkatesh Iyer came in place of Phil Salt later in the season and grabbed the opportunity with both hands and he ended up playing some brilliant knocks for RCB. They had 8 different Player of the Match award winners in the season and that is testament to the balance in the side. They played like champions throughout the season and became just the third team to win back-to-back titles.
