Upcoming 19th edition of the IPL is set to introduce a plethora of changes with the mini auction scheduled to take place. A lot of swap and squad changes are taking place. Media is filled with the news of players being swapped, traded and released from teams to get the best player bets on their teams. Franchises are trying their best and putting their head to toes to get their favorite players in the squad for the upcoming IPL 2026.
Among the speculations and rumors one change that can be witnessed is the high profile players associated with a particular team may not remain with those teams in the 19th edition. A significant change anticipated for IPL 2026 is the emergence of new captains. The previous cycle had minimal shifts in team leadership. However, in the upcoming IPL, we might see many fresh faces taking on the role of captain for various teams.
These rumors and speculations also raise the question that How Many Teams in IPL 2026-will be taking part or which are the all teams of the IPL 2026. Today we will discuss this question in detail and will reveal how many teams will there be in the IPL 2026, does the number increase to 12 or the teams number will be the same just like the IPL 2025.
Teams in IPL 2026: Will IPL 2026 have 12 teams?
No, as per the present news and updates from the BCCI. IPL has a total of 10 teams in the current format and there is no news on increasing these numbers to 12. In recent times BCCI has invited these 10 franchises to discuss the details of the upcoming season which ended without any consensus among the franchises. After the conclusion, Jay Shah released a press news saying that-
This press release marks a clear indication on the number of the franchise for the IPL 2025. So for the upcoming edition of the IPL the numbers of the teams would remain limited to the current 10 teams.
IPL 2026 Teams and Their New Captain
| Team | Captain |
|---|---|
| Chennai Super Kings | Ruturaj Gaikwad |
| Delhi Capitals | Axar Patel |
| Gujarat Titans | Shubman Gill |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | Ajinkya Rahane |
| Lucknow Super Giants | Rishabh Pant |
| Mumbai Indians | Hardik Pandya |
| Punjab Kings | Shreyas Iyer |
| Rajasthan Royals | Yashasvi Jaiswal / Dhruv Jurel |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Rajat Patidar |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | Pat Cummins |
At present these are the ten teams for the IPL 2026 and these are the names of the captains who have led the team in the IPL 2026 Season. But as the mini auction is scheduled to take place in the month of the December to February these captains can be changed and the franchise can bring on new captains for the 19th season of Indian Premier League 2026.
For IPL 2026, some teams are likely to retain their current captains: Hardik Pandya for Mumbai Indians, Ruturaj Gaikwad for Chennai Super Kings, Pat Cummins for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Shreyas Iyer for Punjab Kings, and Shubman Gill for Gujarat Titans.
