Bengaluru, 27 Mar

Besieged defending champions seeking to regroup after an unprecedented tragedy, decorated sides chasing lost glory, two stalwarts fighting for relevance and a clutch of hopefuls eager to impress - The 2026 IPL, starting Saturday, is poised to offer intriguing moments over the next two months.

Title holders Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the tournament opener, would have liked to enter the league's 19th edition with a lot more swag and pomp.

But an austere atmosphere surrounds the match, as the memory of 11 fans who lost their lives in the 4 June stampede outside the stadium during the team's title celebration dominates the lead-up to the match.

The Karnataka State Cricket Association and RCB management have also taken steps to keep the unfortunate souls' memory alive.

The KSCA announced leaving 11 permanentempty seats in the stadium, which itself had to go through a few uncertain months before the receiving necessary permissions from Karnataka government authorities to host the IPL matches. RCB players would wear jerseys printed No. 11 on their back during the practice session on the first match-day.

While these are hugely appreciable measures, cricket on the ground often transcends such emotions and empathetic symbols.

It does not require any trained eyes to understand that both RCB and Sunrisers are thin on bowling resources after missing key players.

RCB will be without the metronomic Josh Hazlewood and left-arm seamer Yash Dayal. Both played significant roles in their triumphant campaign in 2025, but will be absent this year owing to various reasons.

Hazlewood is completing his rehabilitation process in Australia and might join the squad at a later stage. Dayal, who isfacing sexual abuse allegations, will sit out of the entire season.

They will have to rely heavily on veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, spinner Krunal Pandya, Suyash Sharma and left-arm pacer Mangesh Yadav.

SRH will be without skipper Pat Cummins at least for the initial phase. Ishan Kishan has been named the stand-in captain.

But their back-up options do not really inspire much confidence. Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat, Harshal Patel, Harsh Dubey can be challenged massively on flat tracks.

Both teams will be hoping to paper over their bowling imperfections with batting fire power.

RCB boasts of Virat Kohli, Tim David, Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, skipper Rajat Patidar, Romario Shepherd in their ranks, and SRH can answer them through Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen.

Legacy sides eye redemption

Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have 13 IPL titles between them. But last season was one of struggle for them.

MI managed to reach the playoffs as the fourth-placed team but it was evident that they were running on reserve gas, and they will certainly eye a campaign that befits the five-time winners tag this time.

KKR and CSK ended up at eighth and 10th respectively. They have rejigged the teams. CSK imported Sanju Samson from RR and added Matt Henry and Noor Ahmad.

They will certainly look for one last hurrah from 'Old Lion' Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has maintained the suspense over his IPL future.

KKR have added some muscle to their batting through Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra and Cameron Green, who comes in with the highest pay package for an overseas player in IPL history.

Skipper Ajinkya Rahane will be the glue on top and his deputy Rinku Singh will have to slip into the role of a finisher that Andre Russell did for them from 2014 until his retirement last year.

In bowling, they have two trump cards in Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine but their pace department remains a concern.

Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans will be looking to add to one more trophy to their kitty, while Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Supergiants will hunt for their maiden title.

RoKo dance

There is something so alluring about old champions trying to fight it out against younger generations and stay relevant.

Kohli and Rohit Sharma certainly have nothing to prove now after climbing seldom touched peaks in their illustrious careers.

Kohli added one missing silverware from his bustling cabinet when RCB won their maiden IPL title last year, and now, having achieved his long-standing dream, can their talisman keep his intensity level up in this edition?

In that context, Kohli’s contest will be with himself as well. He is well rested after the home ODI series against New Zealand in January.

Rohit, whose last competitive outing was also against the Kiwis, offers a slightly different case. As a batter, he has never set the field ablaze in the IPL.

The 38-year-old has never scored over 538 runs in a single edition, and he would like to set that record straight with a bumper season, also powering Mumbai to their sixth title.

He looks the part too, having shed a few kilos, prompting England head coach Brendon McCullum to jokingly ask him - “where is the rest of you” - during the recent T20 World Cup.

Future stars

As it has been the case over the years, a clutch of uncapped cricketers have made a beeline this year too, hoping to impress the selectors with a breakaway outing.

Domestic warhorse Auqib Nabi of DC, RR'sKartik Sharma and CSK’s Prashant Veer are a few of them.

Can they challenge the established order? Or will the familiar names rule the roost once again? The next 65 days will give an answer.