IPL 2026 preview: A new era at Rajasthan Royals, and can Mumbai challenge for RCB's crown?

Mumbai, 24 March 2026 — When the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League begins on Saturday night, the narrative is already richer than any opening weekend in the competition’s history. Virat Kohli will raise the 2025 trophy to the Ahmedabad sky one final time before Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, but the question that follows the champions into the new campaign is whether their crown can survive a two-pronged assault from Mumbai Indians’ restored dynasty and a Punjab Kings side desperate to finish the story that eluded them six months ago.

RCB’s long-awaited breakthrough arrived via six runs in last year’s final, yet the off-season has done little to dull the hunger around the club. A consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group paid US $1.78 billion for the franchise this week — a 1,495 per cent appreciation on the 2008 purchase price — and the playing roster has been kept almost intact. Director of cricket Mo Bobat and head coach Andy Flower have retained the title-winning core: Kohli, opener Jacob Bethell, captain Rajat Patidar, finishers Tim David and Romario Shepherd, and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma. Venkatesh Iyer adds top-order ballast, Jordan Cox covers multiple spots, and uncapped left-arm quick Mangesh Yadav — signed after Yash Dayal was stood down pending court proceedings — offers raw pace above 140 km/h. The only cloud is Josh Hazlewood’s absence for the early rounds; the Australian’s 22 wickets in 12 innings last year drove RCB’s press-up attack, and his hamstring-Achilles management plan leaves 36-year-old Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading a thinner-than-preferred pace unit. If the champions negotiate the first fortnight, the structure that ended 17 years of hurt should push them into another late charge.

Mumbai Indians, five-time kings of the league, believe the path back to supremacy runs through a familiar alliance. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock reunite at the top, the pair that anchored the 2019 and 2020 triumphs. Behind them, India’s T20 World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma give middle-overs control, while Hardik Pandya and Will Jacks provide all-round elasticity. Jasprit Bumrah remains the competition’s most decisive operator; supported by Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar, he forms a new-ball trio capable of deciding matches inside the first 30 balls. Mahela Jayawardene’s return as head coach, after two years as global head of cricket, has re-anchored the dressing-room culture that delivered three titles between 2017 and 2022. The squad’s thin domestic spin reserve and Bumrah’s occasional workload limits are the lone red flags. On paper, it is the strongest squad in the draw, and anything less than a final-day appearance will be judged failure.

Punjab Kings enter the tournament as the side most scarred by 2025. They topped the league phase, then fell six runs short in the final. A record 21 retentions underline the faith in Ricky Ponting’s second-year project. Captain Shreyas Iyer, recovered from the spleen laceration that curtailed his winter, is reunited with the coach who moulded Delhi Capitals into serial qualifiers. An Australian spine — Marcus Stoinis, Ben Dwarshuis, Xavier Bartlett, Mitch Owen and teenage batting-spinner Cooper Connolly — offers Ponting both familiarity and flexibility. Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal continue to headline a well-balanced attack complemented by 6ft 8in Marco Jansen. The lingering doubt is whether Iyer’s rust and a selection headache among multi-skilled options cost them in clutch moments. Expect another top-four push; the leap from nearly-men to champions may hinge on Iyer’s first-month rhythm.

Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, begin life after a US $1.63 billion takeover. The consortium led by U.S. entrepreneur Kal Somani, backed by Walmart heir Rob Walton, will assume control after IPL 2026, ending Manoj Badale’s 18-year stewardship that delivered the fairytale 2008 title. On the field, 24-year-old Riyan Parag takes over as full-time captain, tasked with shepherding a callow but explosive batting group: Yashasvi Jaiswal and 14-year-old phenomenon Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who struck 175 off 80 balls in February’s Under-19 World Cup final. Ravindra Jadeja’s arrival from Chennai Super Kings and Ravi Bishnoi’s wrist-spin lend Parag control in the middle overs, yet the pace cupboard is threadbare beyond a returning but perennially fragile Jofra Archer. Sam Curran’s season-ending groin injury leaves Dasun Shanaka as cover; domestic pair Sandeep Sharma and Tushar Deshpande offer honest skill rather than fear factor. Until the Royals learn to chase — they lost eight of nine batting second last year — a mid-table finish appears the ceiling.

Sunrisers Hyderabad round out the weekend double-header, still searching for the batting depth to complement a world-class attack built around Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan. The franchise has never lacked bowling bite; whether new leadership can coax consistent runs will decide if they gate-crash the playoff picture.

By the time the opening weekend closes, the contenders will have offered early clues. RCB’s attempt to turn one title into a dynasty, Mumbai’s pursuit of a record sixth trophy, Punjab’s bid to finish the job, and Rajasthan’s first steps into a billion-dollar future — all will shape a season that promises to be as lucrative as it is unpredictable.