Following the successful completion of IPL 2026, former cricketers are picking their teams of the season. Aakash Chopra has become the latest cricketer to confirm his team of the season. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Virat Kohli as the openers of his team. Sooryavanshi finished the season as the highest run-scorer and scored 776 runs in 16 matches. Batting with a strike rate of 237.30, Sooryavanshi hit 72 sixes and 63 fours. He hit a century and 5 half-centuries.
Kohli scored 675 runs in 16 matches. He stepped up in the final and played a match-winning knock of 75 off 42 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He continued to hold one end even as RCB lost five wickets.
Ishan Kishan will bat at number three and will be followed by Rajat Patidar and Heinrich Klaasen. Kishan, who captained Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the start of the season, scored 602 runs.
Patidar, who captained RCB to a title win, scored 501 runs. Despite being a finisher, Klaasen scored 624 runs to finish as the fifth-highest run-scorer. He once held the Orange Cap.
All-rounders
Nitish Kumar Reddy, Sunil Narine and Krunal Pandya were three all-rounders in his team. Krunal was the star performer in the IPL 2026 final and he only spent 23 runs in four overs. He also scalped the key wicket of Jos Buttler.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada and Jofra Archer were three pacers in the team. Bhuvneshwar, who once held the Purple Cap, scalped 28 wickets in 16 matches. He finished next to Kagiso Rabada, who scalped 29 wickets. Rabada plays for Gujarat Titans.
Archer scalped 25 wickets in 16 matches. The right-arm pacer showcased his batting skills in the must-win game against Mumbai Indians and scored 32 off 15 balls. He scalped 3 wickets for just 17 runs. Chopra selected Rasikh Dar as the 12th player in his team. He scalped three wickets in the final.
Aakash Chopra’s team of IPL 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Rajat Patidar, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Krunal Pandya, Sunil Narine, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada, Jofra Archer, Rasikh Dar.
