IPL 2026: Power Rankings - Episode 4
Looking at the best veteran and best youngster for each team this season
This week had a day where people scored all the runs and dropped all the catches. Then it ended in a game where a team was almost bowled out for a negative score.
There is no way to make sense of any of this, which is suboptimal, as this is the power list, and that is the idea here.
But let us wade through the muck together, because we are finally seeing some sense through it all.
RCB (Previous Ranking: 1)
Last week: There was a genuine chance of RCB breaking their infamous 49 all-out record when Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood had Delhi 13/6 at the end of the powerplay. And against GT, they did well to pull the game back from overs 17 to 19 and then chased it fairly comfortably.
Best veteran: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
RCB have four players 35 or older, and all of them have had solid seasons so far. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar now has the joint-most wickets in the league, and no seamer with 100 or more balls has been more frugal. Only Rabada and Archer have more wickets in the first six overs.
Best youngster: Devdutt Padikkal
If we did an Most Improved Player award for players in this mega auction cycle, Padikkal would certainly be very high up that list. The 25-year-old left-hander has now scored 242 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 192, smashing 16 sixes along the way.
Next: @ GT (Apr 30), @ LSG (May 7), v MI (May 10, night game)
Road ahead: RCB would be licking their lips after looking at their schedule for the rest of the tournament. GT will obviously be a challenge, but Lucknow are winless at home. They play their home game versus MI at Raipur.
PBKS (Previous Ranking: 2)
Last week: Punjab have now chased over 260 twice in their history; no other T20 team has done it even once. The openers got them so ahead of the chase after that powerplay burst, and then it was business as usual in a run-chase for the captain. Of course, there were key dropped catches on either side.
Best veteran: Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas has been incredible in IPL chases since 2024. The man is an absolute run bank, averaging 100 at 175. This year, he already has four fifty-plus scores while batting second five times, and his season strike rate is at 186 right now.
Best youngster: Priyansh Arya
Priyansh Arya is one of three LHB opening outliers in this year’s IPL along with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma. The 24-year-old is actually scoring faster than them; almost at two and a half runs per ball, and hitting a six nearly once every four deliveries.
Next: v RR (Apr 28), @ GT (May 3, night game), @ SRH (May 6)
Road ahead: They do play some more solid teams in their next three fixtures. Even two wins here means they’ll have one foot in the playoffs.
SRH (Previous Ranking: 6)
Last week: SRH chased down 228 comfortably against RR, though if the hosts held on to their chances we could have had an interesting game. They kind of batted Delhi out of the game at home. Pat Cummins started off really well after a long layoff.
Best veteran: Heinrich Klaasen
Heinrich Klaasen’s strike rate is the talk of the summer, but the consistency of the man has been ridiculous. Only once has he not crossed 30 (he made 29). He’s also had to do the rebuilding job a bit, and he did show his fifth gear vs Delhi when he was batting at the end.
Best youngster: Nitish Kumar Reddy
I thought it was between him and Sakib Hussain, but Nitish has played all games and contributes on both sides of the ball. Fun fact, he’s hit more sixes (14) than fours (9). He can be expensive with the ball at times, but he’s more of a useful sixth option.
Next: @ MI (Apr 29), v KKR (May 3, afternoon game), v PBKS
Road ahead: They now play two out of form teams in their next three. It’s a really good chance for them to get to seven wins and take another step closer to the playoffs.
RR (Previous Ranking: 3)
Last week: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored a 36-ball hundred against SRH, but once he was out, RR only added 58 runs off the last 37 deliveries of the innings. They then dropped Abhishek Sharma twice in the powerplay. They fought their way from 110/6 to 159/6 versus Lucknow, and then took three powerplay wickets.
Best veteran: Jofra Archer
Jofra Archer is not only the highest wicket-taker for RR this season, but also in their history. He’s also taken a first-ball wicket thrice now, and has bowled some fiery spells at the start of the innings. He’s not going for many runs either.
Best youngster: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
A 15-ball fifty used to be a rare thing in the sport. But Sooryavanshi has now done it thrice this season, plus both his IPL hundreds have come in 35 and 36 balls. He’s hitting a boundary once every 2.4 deliveries.
Next: @ PBKS (Apr 28), v DC (May 1), v GT (May 9)
Road ahead: They don’t have an easy three games ahead compared to SRH, who are also at 5 in 8. But Delhi and Gujarat aren’t in the absolute top tier, so we’ll potentially see some interesting fixtures with respect to the points table.
GT (Previous Ranking: 5)
Last week: Gujarat bowled really well on a tricky surface against Chennai, and chased it down quite comfortably with each of their top three making runs. Sai Sudharsan made a hundred against RCB as they posted over 200, but they weren’t able to slow the hosts down while defending. It didn’t help that they dropped a sitter before Virat Kohli made a run.
Best veteran: Kagiso Rabada
In episode two of the Power Rankings, we said Rabada was their most expensive seamer. But he’s been incredible in three of their last four games, taking seven new ball wickets.
Best youngster: Sai Sudharsan
Just in last week’s power rankings, we talked about how Sai Sudharsan was a player performing badly. But he’s flipped the narrative real quick, scoring 100 off 58 versus RCB and 87 off 46 versus CSK. In fact, he is now Gujarat’s fastest-scoring batter at the moment with a strike rate of 163.
Next: v RCB (Apr 30), v PBKS (May 3, night game), @ RR (May 9)
Road ahead: A bit like Rajasthan, their road ahead isn’t roses and petals either. In fact, they play two of the best teams this IPL, though both at home. And then they go to Jaipur. Remember, they’re four in eight, so they don’t have the luxury that SRH or RR do with the extra win.
