Page 14 - Latest Updates on IPL 2026

IPL 2026: Starc responds to critics, calls out heavily misinformed opinions

Mitchell Starc has lashed out at critics over his delayed arrival for IPL 2026, asserting that his absence at the start of the season is due to injury management and not due to a lack of commitment to Delhi Capitals as some "heavily misinformed" opinions suggested. The left-arm pacer is yet to arrive in India and will miss Delhi Capitals' opening matches, sparking debate around overseas players' commitment to their franchises. Breaking his silence on the growing criticism, Starc said in a statement on Saturday, "Despite the opinions and views of certain individuals with their platforms in and through the Indian media, I'm currently rehabbing and managing an injury in my shoulder and elbow of which I didn't know the extent of during the Australian summer." "These individuals have made some strong statements around involvement in the IPL and provided heavily misinformed opinions of players, preached them as facts, and claim to know my body better than me." The 36-year-old, who grabbe

RCB vs SRH HIGHLIGHTS IPL 2026: Kolhi, Paddikal star as RCB chase down 202 runs inside 16 overs

IPL 2026 HIGHLIGHTS: Virat Kohli, with his brilliant unbeaten 69-run innings vs SRH, became the first batter to score 4000 runs while chasing in IPL

IPL 2026 live streaming: Where to watch RCB vs SRH cricket match live?

JioHotstar in India will stream the IPL 2026 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad through its app and website

IPL 2026: Only aim is to win matches for team, says Angkrish Raghuvanshi

Mumbai and Kolkata Knight Riders' batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi says he judges his performances with how his team fares while he keeps working on multiplying his skills as a top order-batter and wicketkeeper. In a team which has New Zealand's Tim Seifert and uncapped Indian Tejasvi Dahiya as specialist wicketkeepers, Raghuvanshi's skills behind the wickets could be handy for Kolkata Knight Riders who like other teams will be challenged to find their right combination in early stages of the Indian Premier League. "My Mumbai T20 team needed me to keep and so I said why not? It's a new challenge and I enjoyed it a lot and I've been practicing it quite a bit and we'll see what happens with it," Raghuvanshi told PTI in an exclusive interview. With competition for spots in Indian teams across formats intensifying and specialist batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma also working on their bowling skills constantly, Raghuvanshi is in for the tough battle too. But he does not want to lo

IPL 2026: RCB coach Flower backs Impact Sub rule as tactical boost

The Impact Sub rule might have vertically divided the opinion of players and pundits but Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower on Friday termed it a "good innovation" as it offers tactical flexibility to teams in the IPL. Leading voices such as India's Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill and former captain Rohit Sharma thought the Impact Sub rule takes the skill out of the game. "I think it has been a good innovation, it's interesting to be part of it. You're making decisions on the impact player, and I think it's interesting for the audience to debate what's right and what's wrong, so tactically it's quite an interesting addition to the game," Flower said on the eve of IPL's 2026 season-opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad. At the same time, Flower also said the Impact Player rule makes the decision making a bit tricky for the coaching staff. "I must say that one of the things I love about cricket is that when you select an 11, one of the challenges you have is balancing

IPL 2026: Ishan Kishan a confident player and leader, says Vettori

Head coach Daniel Vettori on Friday said that the Sunrisers Hyderabad team management had little hesitation in handing over the stand-in captain's job to Ishan Kishan as he proved to be a "confident player and leader." Regular skipper Pat Cummins will miss the early stages of IPL 2026, owing to a back injury. "I think Ishan's been around in the IPL for a long period of time now. He's been with a number of teams and he's been highly successful, so, he brings in his own confidence around that," Vettori said in the pre-match press meet here on Friday. "The fact that he's led the U19s and his state team and they won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year brings a confident person, a confident player and a really confident leader and those are the attributes that we really looked at when he was appointed. "His combination with Abhishek, they're good friends, they know the team exceptionally well and I really feel like those two will lead from the front this season," he added. It also ma

IPL 2026: Kohli at top of his game and hungry, says RCB coach Flower

The 18 passing IPL summers have not affected Virat Kohli's "drive and hunger" to touch new heights as a sportsperson, and still remains on top of his game, reckoned Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower here on Friday. Kohli was RCB's leading run-getter last year, scoring 657 runs when the franchise landed its maiden IPL trophy, and Flower did not see any reason for the master batter not doing an encore. "I've been watching really closely (Kohli batting at nets), he looks on top of his game, he looks super fit. I was watching him do shuttles the other day, he looks light on his feet, very fit, very lean, very hungry," said Flower in the pre-match press conference. "He's always been very hungry and determined and I think that mental and emotional space that he's in, where he's very comfortable with himself as a person, but he's also very hungry to drive himself as a professional sportsperson," he added. However, Kohli will be playing his first tournament since appearing

Slapgate to CSK ban: Controversies that took place in the IPL history

This story revisits some of the most talked-about controversies that once shook the IPL tournament.

IPL 2026: Marsh says Pant's openness helps create strong team culture

Mitchell Marsh has heaped praise on Rishabh Pant's leadership, saying the skipper's openness to suggestions has been a key factor behind the positive environment within the Lucknow Super Giants camp. LSG have two international captains in Marsh and Aiden Markram. "It's just about contributing as best you can, being the best support possible for Rishabh. He's a great young guy who leads his team really well. He's always open to feedback, suggestions, and takes on board whatever you say," Marsh told PTI in an interview. "We've got some really good leaders within the group, which you need. And for me, it's about contributing where needed." Emphasising his own approach, Marsh underlined that consistency and team impact remain his primary focus. "Just staying consistent with the way I prepare. Last year was obviously a good year for me personally in terms of my consistency. But the main thing for me is just, how can I impact this team positively and contribute to us winning as many ga

IPL 2026: RCB vs SRH pitch report, highest score, Chinnaswamy Stadium stats

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium returns to the IPL spotlight after nearly a year without hosting matches, and it is expected to stay true to its reputation as a batting paradise

No Dhoni for CSK; MSD to miss first two weeks of IPL 2026 due to injury

"MS Dhoni is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a calf strain. As a result, he is likely to miss the first two weeks of TATA IPL 2026," CSK said in an official statement.

IPL 2026: All eyes on Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium as carnival begins

As defending champions RCB host SRH, the focus extends beyond cricket, with the league's 19th edition starting under a sombre backdrop even as it promises two months of high-octane action.

IPL 2026: RCB vs SRH playing 11, live toss and match time, streaming

Ishan Kishan, who led Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) in 2025, will be making his IPL captaincy debut against RCB in the IPL 2026 opening game

IPL 2026 Today's Match: RCB vs SRH playing 11, batters vs bowlers match-ups

Rajat Patidar made his captaincy debut in IPL 2025, replacing Faf du Plessis, and in his very first season as IPL captain, he led his team to their maiden title

IPL salary debate: Are cricketers underpaid or bound by structure?

Citing estimates that franchises earn ₹400-500 crore annually, Mukund suggested that the current spending of around ₹100-120 crore on player salaries is disproportionately low.

IPL 2026: Thushara not to feature in RCB's playing 11 vs SRH on March 28

Thushara's absence comes after he failed to clear a mandatory fitness test conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC)

IPL 2026: GT skipper Shubman Gill says he has nothing to prove this season

Shubman Gill on Thursday said he has nothing to prove in the upcoming IPL after being dropped from the Indian team leading into the 2026 T20 World Cup. Gill was the India vice-captain in the shortest format but was dropped to accommodate Sanju Samson in the top-order. India went on to win a record third title. Gill captains the Indian Test and ODI teams besides leading Gujarat Titans in the IPL. "Not at all, sir. I think if you look at the past three or four seasons, I think I have the most runs in IPL. So I don't think I don't have anything to prove in this season particularly. "And the four years that I've played for this team, I think we have done decently well as a team. And I think I've done decently well as a batsman. So I don't think I need to prove to anyone, my worth," said Gill in the pre-season conference here when asked if he had a point to prove after the World Cup snub. Gill is a prolific scorer in the IPL. He amassed 650 runs last season, 426 runs the year before an

IPL 2026: Shubman Gill slams Impact Player rule as one-dimensional

Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill on Wednesday became the latest Indian cricketer to criticise the Impact Player rule in the IPL, saying "it takes the skill out of the game". The other Indian players who have expressed their concerns over the rule include Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and more recently Delhi Capitals' skipper Axar Patel. In the IPL captains meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, majority of the leaders including Gill had sought a review of the rule that BCCI introduced in 2023 before extending it at least until 2027. A day later Gill did not mince his words when asked about his thoughts on the Impact Player rule, which allows teams to play an extra batter or bowler in any stage of the game. "Personally for me, I don't think there should be an impact player. I think cricket in general is an 11 players' game and on wickets where we play on the grounds that we play, adding an extra batsman is I think it takes the skill out of the game," said Gill, who leads India in Tests an

IPL 2026 full schedule announced; league stage to conclude on May 24

The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that while the final is still scheduled for May 31, the full schedule for the playoffs will be released at a later date

Who is Abhinandan Singh? RCB pacer who makes IPL debut vs SRH in Bengaluru

A key phase in Abhinandan's development came during IPL 2024, when he served as a net bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)