The 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is to start from Saturday (28 March). In the opening match of IPL 2026 to be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the teams of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will face each other, in which along with the veterans, new faces will also be in focus.
This season, more and more emerging players are emerging, who would like to make their name on a big platform like IPL. IPL has made unknown players stars every season. This season will also not be untouched by this. Today we will talk about those 5 uncapped batsmen who can create havoc in the upcoming season.
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1. Karthik Sharma
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has placed a big bet on this wicketkeeper batsman from Rajasthan. CSK bought this 19-year-old explosive batsman for Rs 14.20 crore in the mini auction held in December last year. CSK had their eyes on Karthik since last year. He made headlines by hitting the most sixes in the first half of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season and then emerged as the joint most expensive uncapped player in the auction. Karthik also did wonders in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025 and hit 11 sixes in 83 balls. He also did not spare spinners like Shreyas Gopal and Sai Kishore. CSK will expect similar explosive batting from him in the middle overs during the IPL.
2. Salil Arora
Salil Arora, who plays domestic cricket for Punjab, has been included in their team by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 1.50 crore. This 23 year old wicketkeeper batsman can play the role of finisher. Salil Arora played an unbeaten inning of 125 runs in 45 balls against Jharkhand in the SMAT just before the IPL 2026 auction, which included 9 fours and 11 sixes. In this domestic T20 tournament, he scored 358 runs in 8 innings with a strike of almost 200. During this period, 28 sixes came from his bat. Salil Arora plays in the same style in which the SRH team is known for batting. If a place is made for him in the star-studded batting line up of SRH, he can make a big splash.
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3. Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the youngest player in IPL history, is going to turn 15 just a day before the start of the upcoming season. While making his debut last season, he created a stir by hitting sixes on the very first ball. After this, Vaibhav scored the second fastest century in IPL history (in 35 balls). Lal Vaibhav of Bihar repeated this performance in the Under-19 World Cup this year and made Team India the champion by playing an astonishing innings of 175 runs in the final of England. There will be some pressure on him in IPL 2026, because expectations from him have increased. It will be important to see how the Rajasthan Royals franchise handles this young sensation. If he is given full opportunity, he along with Yashasvi Jaiswal can decide the course of the match in the powerplay itself.
4. Mukul Chaudhary
Rajasthan’s Mukul Chaudhary will be seen in the jersey of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2026. The team captained by Rishabh Pant has bought him for Rs 2.60 crore. Like Karthik Sharma, Mukul is also adept at hitting sixes. Both of them have passed out from Jaipur Academy. Mukul can also do wicketkeeping if needed. Mukul got the chance after Karthik got injured during SMAT. Mukul grabbed this opportunity with both hands and scored 173 runs in 5 innings at a strike rate of 198.85. He can be seen handling the finishing responsibilities for LSG. LSG coach Justil Langer says that in the next few months he is going to make Mukul the most dangerous finisher of India.
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5. Kumar Kushagra
Gujarat Titans (GT) has retained Kumar Kushagra for Rs 65 lakh. Kushagra did not get a chance to play even a single match last season but this time Jos Buttler’s poor form can open doors for him. Even the sharp ones become wicketkeepers. 21 year old Kushagra is in tremendous form. He played an important role in Jharkhand’s title win by scoring 422 runs at a strike rate of 161.68 in SMAT 2025. He was the second highest run scorer for the team after captain Ishan Kishan. This is Kushagra’s third IPL season. He was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 7.20 crore for IPL 2024 but he was able to score only 3 runs in 3 innings. After this Delhi Capitals released him. Kushagra will be eager to showcase his abilities if he gets a chance in the GT.
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