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Virat Kohli gets new role: Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed his IPL 2026 Team of the Tournament, and he selected those players who dominated the season with match-winning performances. His team features some explosive batters, dependable all-rounders, and some of the most successful bowlers from the tournament.
Ashwin’s 2026 Team of the Tournament has the most players from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who won the IPL 2026, but he named Shubman Gill as his captain despite the Gujarat Titans suffering a heartbreaking defeat in the final on May 31 in Ahmedabad.
Ravichandran Ashwin reveals his IPL 2026 Team of the Tournament
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin picked Rajasthan Royals’ teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as his opener. The youngster finished as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 776 runs in 16 matches at a stunning strike rate of over 237, earning the MVP award.
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Shubman Gill, who enjoyed another brilliant season for the Gujarat Titans both as a batter and captain, joined Vaibhav as Ashwin’s opening pair. Gill scored 732 runs at an average of nearly 46 with a strike rate of 163.02 and was named captain of Ashwin’s team.
Virat Kohli dropped to No. 3 despite a stunning season as opener
It was a shocking call, as Virat Kohli also dominated the 2026 season as an opener for RCB and played a key role in RCB’s historic title triumph as Virat Kohli amassed 675 runs at an impressive average of 56.25 and a strike rate of 165.84. Despite this, Virat Kohli was slotted in at No. 3 by Ashwin.
Ashwin’s middle order is also explosive. He picked Sunrisers Hyderabad’s dangerous batter Heinrich Klaasen, who smashed 624 runs at an average of 48 and strike rate of 160, and RCB captain Rajat Patidar, who led the side from the front with more than 500 runs at a blistering strike rate of 192.69, at numbers four and five, respectively, in his IPL 2026 Team of the Tournament.
Nitish, Krunal, Overton and Narine add all-round firepower
Nitish Kumar Reddy also found a place in Ashwin’s team. The young all-rounder contributed more than 300 runs and 8 wickets in 14 matches in SRH’s playoff qualification, and the former Indian all-rounder picked Reddy to strike an excellent balance to his team.
RCB’s star all-rounder Krunal Pandya, who scored 226 runs and took 14 wickets in 16 matches this season, was picked at number seven. Well, Ashwin’s bowling attack is packed with proven match-winners. England all-rounder Jamie Overton earned his place after claiming 14 wickets in 10 matches at an average of under 18 and an economy rate of 8.89 for Chennai Super Kings.
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Kolkata Knight Riders’ mystery spinner Sunil Narine continued his remarkable IPL consistency, taking 15 wickets at an average of 22.60 while maintaining a superb economy rate of 6.64 and was also picked for the team by the cricket pundit in his IPL 2026 Team of the Tournament.
Kagiso Rabada to lead Ashwin’s bowling attack
Kagiso Rabada, who finished as IPL 2026’s highest wicket-taker with 29 wickets in 17 matches at an average of 21.58, leads Ashwin’s fast bowling attack, and he will share the new ball duty with the RCB seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who enjoyed a dream season with 28 wickets in 16 matches at an average of under 18 and an economy rate of 7.95.
Ashwin selected Rajasthan Royals’ fast bowler Jofra Archer as his impact player. The England speedster picked up 25 wickets in 16 matches and consistently delivered breakthroughs for RR.
R Ashwin’s IPL 2026 Team of the Tournament:
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Heinrich Klaasen, Rajat Patidar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Krunal Pandya, Jamie Overton, Sunil Narine, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada
Impact Player: Jofra Archer