The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been dominated by the batters in the last few seasons, with 2026 also following the same trend. A plethora of players had outstanding campaigns with the bat, mesmerising crowds all over the country.
Amongst all the amazing performances, it is a difficult exercise to list down the 10 best batters in this year’s IPL. The list does not include the 10 highest run-scorers in the tournament, but it includes the players who had the most impact on their respective sides
through the runs they scored over the two-month tournament.
Here are the 10 best batters in IPL 2026:
10. Sanju Samson - Chennai Super Kings
The 2026 season was Sanju Samson’s first donning the iconic yellow jersey in the IPL, and the wicketkeeper-batter did not disappoint. The 31-year-old ended the campaign as CSK’s leading run-scorer, with 477 runs at an average of 43.36 whilst striking at 165.62. Samson was the only player to hit two centuries in the season, with his 115 not out against the Delhi Capitals being the highlight.
9. Mitchell Marsh - Lucknow Super Giants
Mitchell Marsh’s outstanding form with the bat stood out in an otherwise struggling LSG outfit that finished at the foot of the standings. The Australian batter scored 563 at a strike rate of 163.18 to be one of the few shining lights for the Super Giants. This was Marsh’s second consecutive 550-run season in the IPL, after hitting 627 runs in the previous year.
8. KL Rahul - Delhi Capitals
KL Rahul once again had an excellent season for the Capitals whilst opening the batting. The Indian international scored 593 runs at a strike-rate of 174.41, the highest in his IPL career. His standout innings came against the Punjab Kings, where he scored an unbeaten 152, now the highest individual score by an Indian batter in the league. However, DC ended that game on the losing side after PBKS chased down 265.
7. Rajat Patidar - Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Rajat Patidar’s most important contribution remains captaining RCB to their second consecutive title in 2026. The right-handed batter, however, still had a 500-run season, where he struck at 192.69, whilst averaging close to 42. His best innings came against the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, where he hit an unbeaten 93 off just 33 balls to guide his side into the showpiece final in Ahmedabad.
6. Sai Sudharsan - Gujarat Titans
Sai Sudharsan is the definition of consistency in the IPL. This was the second season in a row where he scored more than 700 runs for the Titans. The left-handed batter ended up as the tournament’s third-highest run-getter in 2026 at 722 at a strike-rate of 157.98. He scored a century against RCB at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, but his team ended up on the losing side.
5. Abhishek Sharma - Sunrisers Hyderabad
Abhishek Sharma continued with his attacking style in IPL 2026, scoring at a strike-rate of 204.72, the fourth-highest in the season. He scored 563 runs from 15 matches, which included an unbeaten 135 against the Delhi Capitals, coming off just 68 balls. The left-hander hit 43 sixes in the season, which was the second-highest after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s tally of 72.
4. Ishan Kishan - Sunrisers Hyderabad
Ishan Kishan carried his outstanding form from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy into the IPL, having hit 602 runs, the most he has scored in a single season of the tournament. His strike-rate was also amongst the best, hitting at 182.42 whilst averaging 40.13, the highest since IPL 2021, where he averaged 57.33 for the Mumbai Indians.
3. Shubman Gill - Gujarat Titans
Shubman Gill has been the Titans’ talisman ever since the franchise was founded in 2022. India’s ODI and Test skipper ended the tournament as the second-highest run-scorer, with 732 runs to his name, whilst striking at 163.02. He was also excellent as the captain, taking GT to only their second IPL final.
2. Virat Kohli - Royal Challengers Bengaluru
No list of best batters is complete without Virat Kohli. The 37-year-old once again had an amazing IPL campaign, ending up with 675 runs at an average of 56.25 and a strike-rate of 165.84, the highest in his illustrious IPL career. His best innings was without doubt in the final against GT, where he scored an unbeaten 75 off 42 deliveries to take his side across the finishing line even though he was struggling with a hamstring injury.
1. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - Rajasthan Royals
Arguably one of the greatest batting seasons in the history of the IPL, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 2026 campaign will be remembered for a very long time. The 15-year-old won the Orange Cap, scoring 776 at an unbelievable strike rate of 237.30. He also broke Chris Gayle’s long-standing record of most sixes in a season, with 72. The left-handed batter scored one century and three scores in the 90s in his last four innings of the season.
