If there is one format where bowlers are treated like a bowling machine, it is the T20 format, with the Indian Premier League – the best T20 format in the world – taking center stage. Since the inception of T20 cricket in the early 2000s, the game has evolved drastically. From the time when 150-160 total was a match-winning total, until 2025, even 200 totals are not safe. That has been the evolution of the game, and especially the rise of flat fields.
This is why the role of bowlers is becoming extremely crucial in T20 cricket these days. Gone are the days when an ER of 6 was considered the gold standard, which has switched to 7-8 ERs in the current era. Anything less than 8 ER is considered the gold standard today. So, how do the teams compare in terms of their bowling squad ahead of the IPL 2026 Mini Auction, and which bowlers are the teams likely to retain?
It will be an interesting selection point for the team as they will be given the freedom to pick as many bowlers as they need. The Mini Auction allows for this flexibility, and all ten teams will want to make the most of this opportunity to maintain a solid core of bowlers. So, with the official announcement just a week away, in this article we look at the top predicted bowlers list for all 10 teams for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
IPL 2026 List of all 10 top predicted bowlers of the teams
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) predicted retained bowlers for IPL 2026
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Shivam Dubey
- Anshul Kamboj
- Khaleel Ahmed
- Ramkrishna Ghosh
- Matheesha Pathirana (o)
- Nathan Ellis (o)
- Noor Ahmed (o)
- Rachin Ravindra (o)
- Sam Curran (o)
The Chennai Super Kings team should retain a total of 10 bowlers including 5 foreign bowlers for IPL 2026. The CSK team will see Noor Ahmad, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and Nathan Ellis as the key retention bowlers. Moreover, CSK will see Anshul Kamboj and Ramkrishna Ghosh as the emerging bowlers in the squad. While CSK will see Shivam Dube and Rachin Ravindra among the all-rounders.
Capitals of Delhi (DC) Predicted low-key bowlers for IPL 2026
- Axar Patel
- Vipraj Nigam
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mukesh Kumar
- T Natarajan
- Mitchell Starc (o)
The team should retain just six bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes only one foreign bowler. Delhi Capitals may want to overhaul their bowling attack and add new, exciting names to the squad. However, from a retention point of view, their first-choice bowling attack looks good with Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar leading the pace duties, and Axar Patel, Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav leading the spin duties. Since they have six good names, they may need good and decent backups in the auction.
Gujarat titans (GT) Predicted low-key bowlers for IPL 2026
- Arshad Khan
- Mahipal Lomror
- Manav Suthar
- Nishant Sindhu
- Rahul Tewatia
- Washington Sundar
- Kulwant Kejroliya
- Mohammed Siraj
- Prasidh Krishna
- R Sai Kishore
- Kagiso Rabada (o)
- Gerald Coetzee (o)
- Rashid Khan(o)
The Gujarat Titans team should retain a total of 13 bowlers including 3 overseas bowlers for IPL 2026. The Gujarat Titans team has a lot of bowlers, so they may not be looking for more options in the auction. The solid retentions include Gujarat Titans Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore, Washington Sundar and Kagiso Rabada. The key backups include Gerald Coetzee, Arshad Khan, Kulwant Kejroya, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Nishant Sindhu and Manav Suthar.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Predicted low-key bowlers for IPL 2026
- Anukul Roy
- Harshit Rana
- Mayank Markande
- Umran Malik
- Vaibhav Arora
- Varun Chakraborty
- Andre Russell (o)
- Sunil Narine (o)
The Kolkata Knight Riders team should retain a total of 8 bowlers including 2 foreign bowlers for IPL 2026. KKR are a team that lacks experience in terms of pace, with the injury-prone Andre Russell being the only good option. Apart from him, the spin department is looking good in the form of Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine. Rest, KKR will retain emerging bowlers like Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Anukul Roy and Mayank Markande.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Predicted low-key bowlers for IPL 2026
- The throne of Kulkarni
- Shahbaz Ahmed
- Akash Deep
- Akash Singh
- Avesh Khan
- Digvesh Rathi
- Prince Yadav
- Ravi Bishnoi
- Shardul Thakur
- Mitchell Marsh (o)
- Will O’Rourke (o)
The Lucknow Super Giants team should retain a total of 11 bowlers for IPL 2026, and this includes only 2 overseas bowlers. LSG will once again be dependent on their Indian bowlers, and apart from Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan, who could be released, LSG will be dependent on Avesh Khan, Shardul Thakur, Prince Yadav and Akash Deep. Among the spinners, Digvesh Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi will lead the spin department. While LSG will retain Will O’Rourke, Akash Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed and Arshin Kulkarni among the key backups. LSG also has Mitchell Marsh as a key all-rounder, but he may not bowl for another year.
Mumbai Indians (MI) Predicted low-key bowlers for IPL 2026
- Arjun Tendulkar
- Hardik Pandya
- Plant man
- Paradise Bawa
- Ashwani Kumar
- Deepak Chahar
- jasprit bumrah
- Karan Sharma
- Vignesj Puthur
- Corbin Bosch (o)
- Mitchell Santner (o)
- Will Jacks (o)
- Allah Ghazanfar (o)
- Trent Boult (o)
The Mumbai Indians team should retain a total of 14 bowlers including 5 overseas bowlers for IPL 2026. MI is almost a complete team when it comes to their bowling department; however, they can still look for a few more foreign pacers in the auction. Among the current bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, Karn Sharma, Allah Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar and Mitchell Santner will lead the bowling department. While MI will be dependent on Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Arjun Tendulkar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch and Vignesh Puthur among the backups.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) Predicted low-key bowlers for IPL 2026
- Harpreet Brar
- Musheer Khan
- Suryansh Barn
- Arshdeep Singh
- Kuldeep sen
- Pravin Dubey
- Vyshak Vijaykumar
- Yas Thakur
- Yuzvendra Chahal
- Azmatullah Omarzai (o)
- Marco Jansen (o)
- Marcus Stoinis (de)
- Lockie Ferguson (o)
The Punjab Kings team should retain a total of 13 bowlers including 4 foreign bowlers for IPL 2026. Punjab Kings have a good set of bowlers in both the overseas and Indian contingents. Among the Indian bowlers, PBKS will retain good players like Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yash Thakur and Harpreet Brar. While PBKS have Lockie Ferguson, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen and Azmatullah Omarzai among their overseas options. Overall, PBKS will retain Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Kuldeep Sen and Pravin Dubey among the backups.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) Predicted low-key bowlers for IPL 2026
- Akash Madhwal
- Riyan Parag
- Sandeep Sharma
- Tushar Deshpande
- Yudhvir Charak
- Wanindu Hasaranga (o)
- Jofra Sagittarius (o)
- Kwena Maphaka (o)
- Nandre Burger (o)
The Rajasthan Royals team should retain a total of 9 bowlers including 4 foreign bowlers for IPL 2026. Barring the Sanju Samson controversy in terms of retention, RR will be dependent on Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande and Akash Madhwal in terms of primary bowling. While RR will retain Riyan Parag, Kwena Maphaka, Nandre Burger and Yudhvir Charak among the backups. They are a decent bunch of bowlers, but RR may need more experience in the Indian bowling unit.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Predicted low-key bowlers for IPL 2026
- Krunal Pandya
- Manoj Bhandage
- Rasik Dar
- Suyash Sharma
- Yasj Dayal
- Swapnil Singh
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Jacob Bethel (o)
- Romario Shephard (o)
- Josh Hazlewood (o)
- Lungi Ngidi (o)
- Nuwan Leer (o)
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru team should retain a total of 12 bowlers including 5 overseas bowlers for IPL 2026. The RCB team should go full strength when it comes to retaining their bowlers, and that means the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Alsohara, Suyash Sharma and Lungi Ngidi will play a key role in the bowling department. While RCB will depend on the likes of Rasikh Dar, Romario Shephard, Swapnil Singh and Manoj Bhandage among the key backups.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) Predicted low-key bowlers for IPL 2026
- Abhishek Sharma
- Hard Dubey
- Nitish Reddy
- Harshal Patel
- Jaydev Unadkat
- Simarjeet Singh
- Zeeshan Ansari
- Kamindu Mendis (o)
- Ehsan Malinga (o)
- Pat Cummins (o)
The Sunrisers Hyderabad team should retain a total of 10 bowlers including 3 foreign bowlers for IPL 2026. The team will see Captain Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel and Ehsan Malinga among the top bowlers on the frontline. While SRH has decent bowlers in the frontline, the team has emerging bowlers like Zeeshan Ansari, Simarjeet Singh and Harsh Dubey. Apart from these six, the team has part-time bowlers like Abhishek Sharma, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Reddy, etc. With these retentions, the team is likely to let go of Mohammed Shami and Rahul Chahar.
So that’s about the best predicted list of retained bowlers for all 10 teams IPL2026. Thanks for reading! Looking at the list of top 10 predicted retained bowlers of the teams for IPL 2026, what is your view on it? Send your thoughts by email to business@cricalytics.com, or in the comments below.
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