Former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Subramaniam Badrinath has picked his preferred IPL 12 for the league stage of the 2026 season. The team consisted of a mostly Indian batting core with a foreigners-heavy bowling attack, just like most teams are constructed in the league anyway.
Although most of his chosen players were among the top run-scorers or wicket-takers in the IPL, some big names, like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, found no mention. Not surprisingly, nine of the 12 players were from the top-four teams that have qualified for the playoffs.
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Badrinath went with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Shubman Gill as the openers, putting Sudharsan at his old position for the Gujarat Titans,
number three. All three have scored more runs than Kohli this season so far, while Sooryavanshi is only behind Rahul, though there’s a valid argument that the youngster has had a greater impact on his team and the league as a whole.
Heinrich Klaasen was an easy choice for number four, and Badrinath picked Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar as his finisher. Patidar, though not among the top run-scorers, was the best Indian middle-order batter in the group stage for his role, striking at 183.64.
Badrinath’s choices after that were quite bowling-heavy. RCB’s Krunal Pandya and Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Sunil Narine made it as spin all-rounders, having picked 11 and 15 wickets, respectively.
Badrinath clearly went for economy rate over wickets, because GT’s Rashid Khan, with his 19 scalps, would have been a better choice otherwise. His frontline pace attack was entirely made up of the top-three wicket-takers of the season, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (24), Jofra Archer (21), and Kagiso Rabada (21).
Badrinath curiously picked an extra pacer in one of Prince Yadav and Kartik Tyagi, while also having his remaining fourth overseas spot in the Impact Player list with CSK spinner Akeal Hosein.
Subramaniam Badrinath’s IPL 2026 league stage 12
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Heinrich Klaasen, Rajat Patidar, Krunal Pandya, Sunil Narine, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jofra Archer, Kagiso Rabada, Prince Yadav/Kartik Tyagi
Impact Sub: Akeal Hosein
