With 39 matches already played, IPL 2026 has crossed the halfway mark. By this point, it is quite clear which teams are struggling and which are performing well.
The position of each team ultimately depends on their strengths and weaknesses. Although some teams have been successful, they are not without problems.
In this article, we will take a look at the biggest problems facing each IPL 2026 team at this stage of the season.
IPL 2026 Mid-Season Check: The biggest problems for each team
MI
Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2026 squad arguably has too much star-power to be handled by one leadership group. MI has a five-time IPL-winning captain – Rohit Sharma, who has also won the T20 World Cup as captain. Three players who were part of the Indian team that won consecutive T20 World Cups – captain Hardik Pandya, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
The inclusion of Tilak Verma means that this MI team includes four players from India’s 2026 T20 World Cup-winning team. More than any other team in this year’s IPL.
With all these stars in the team, the controversial nature of Hardik Pandya’s captaincy has rubbed off on Mumbai Indians. Ahead of the 2024 season, MI had traded the then Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya and handed him the reins of their team. The move was widely criticized as Pandya led the team to last place.
Mumbai is struggling in the same way in 2026. Hardik Pandya’s poor form with both bat and ball is beginning to affect his captaincy. MI are now 9th in the points table with just 2 wins from 7 matches.
But analysis of MI’s problems will not be complete unless the Jasprit Bumrah-sized hole is addressed. Bumrah has not been among the wickets this year and this has increased MI’s problems further. With both Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult failing to live up to the expectations, Mumbai Indians’ over-dependence on Bumrah has made things worse for their bowling.
This also means that Pandya, as captain, has been unable to properly manage the rotation of bowlers and try to address out-of-form batsmen.
Chennai Super Kings
A big topic of discussion for CSK this year has been the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Without him, CSK’s middle order has been unable to perform consistently. Dewald Brewis and Shivam Dubey could not perform up to their potential. Karthik Sharma and Prashant Veer – two big-ticket uncapped buys – have not performed as per expectations.
Due to a weak middle-order, CSK have been forced to rely heavily on the top. Sanju Samson has scored two centuries, but has been inconsistent otherwise. Ruturaj Gaikwad is going through very poor form and Ayush Mhatre is injured. CSK have brought in Urvil Patel and Sarfaraz Khan, but it remains to be seen whether they can deliver.
Even though Anshul Kamboj is the purple cap holder, the rest of CSK’s pace attack has not been able to catch him. Khaleel Ahmed is out due to injury and Akash Madhwal is yet to play. Jamie Overton has been hot and cold. And Gurjapaneet Singh has also been inconsistent. Matt Henry started the season but was dropped after poor performances. This weak pace attack has also increased the problems of CSK.
KKR
KKR’s problems in IPL 2026 actually started before the season even started. Mustafizur Rahman was given a pseudo-ban, Mathisha Pathirana was ruled out for at least half the season, and Harshit Rana was ruled out of IPL 2026 altogether.
All this has affected KKR’s death bowling as Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora and Navdeep Saini have been unable to pick up the slack. KKR is at 7th position this year in terms of economical bowling in the last four overs.
The other problem for KKR is the number of top-order options. There were many players in KKR who liked to bat in the top four. Captain Rahane has opened in all the matches of KKR, but it was of no use. Finn Allen came in with hype and flopped miserably. Tim Seifert has been no better. Cameron Green has been batting in the middle order and has found his feet recently. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has somehow been their only rock in this phase.
And then the elephant in the room. Captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane. Even before this season, Rahane had the worst captaincy record in the IPL. His misuse of KKR’s resources has compounded that problem. KKR is now at eighth position in the points table.
rcb
Almost everything has gone right for RCB. These two defeats have actually been anomalies. But the biggest problem of RCB in IPL 2026 has been spin bowling.
RCB’s batsmen and fast bowlers have been playing very well this year, but the spinners have been a bit unreliable. Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma have been inconsistent. This inconsistency has contributed to RCB finishing mid-table in terms of both the average and economy of its spin bowlers.
Even though Krunal is RCB’s second-highest wicket-taker this year, he has the worst economy compared to all RCB bowlers who have bowled at least 15 overs in IPL 2026.
DC
Delhi Capitals is struggling with both form and injuries. Mitchell Starc has not played yet this season and Lungi Ngidi suffered a serious injury in his last match.
None of their bowlers have averaged below 27 this season, and Ngidi was the best in that aspect. For example, Mukesh Kumar and T Natarajan have averages of over 50 with the ball.
The issue of Delhi’s form has extended to batting as well. Pathum Nissanka and Axar Patel haven’t really lived up to expectations with the bat, and even KL Rahul was looking pretty poor before his brilliant 152*.
Nitish Rana also could not do anything special before scoring two fifties in the last three matches. Tristan Stubbs and David Miller have been the only consistent players for them with the bat.
GT
Since last year, Gujarat Titans have followed a template where their top three – Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarshan and Jos Buttler – will do the bulk of the scoring and the middle order will tie up the loose ends with ease. This year the middle order has been unable to do so. Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips and Washington Sundar have also not been able to make minimal contribution.
This ultimately results in GT often reaching a lower score than usual when batting first. GT has lost both the matches batting first in IPL 2026. However, while chasing the target, they have won four and lost two. Against MI, Tilak Verma single-handedly thrashed the Titans.
In terms of economy, Titans have been the second worst team in the last four overs this year. Jason Holder recently entered the team, but Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Ashok Sharma could not make it to the final stages.
lsg
Lucknow’s biggest problem in IPL this year has been batting. Their key batsmen Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran are in very poor form. LSG is also making some cuts and changes to its line-up. Especially at the top.
Rishabh Pant opened with Mitchell Marsh to start the season, but LSG opted to open with Aiden Markram alongside Marsh. This only lasted until Ayush Badoni was sent to open with Marsh for two matches, with Aiden Markram slipping to No. 5.
Lucknow has been the worst bowling team in terms of economy in the last four overs in IPL 2026. Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan have been revelations, but Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan and Digvesh Rathi have been completely out of their element. Mayank Yadav played one match, but it did not go as per plan.
PBKS
It is very logical to conclude that a team that has not lost a match yet has no real weaknesses. But this is not actually true. While Punjab Kings are the best batting team of IPL 2026 so far, the same is not the case with the ball.
Punjab Kings are one of the bottom three bowling teams this year in terms of both the average and economy of their fast bowlers. Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vishak, Marco Jensen and Xavier Bartlett have been weak with the ball, even considering the very flat pitches.
Punjab have used Yuzvendra Chahal as their primary spinner, but he has taken just 4 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 51. In fact, the only PBKS bowler with an average below 30 in IPL 2026 is Shashank Singh.
Also read: Not Vaibhav Suryavanshi! Prabhsimran Singh close to joining India, Gautam Gambhir gave big hints
RR
Last year, Rajasthan Royals finished ninth after failing to chase the target. Last year, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel were the main culprits.
Despite their strong season, the problem persists. Dhruv Jurel was promoted to No. 3, but the middle order of Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Hetmyer and Ravindra Jadeja leaves a lot to be desired.
Collectively, RR’s middle order (4-7) is the second-worst in IPL 2026, both in terms of average and strike rate. Only the lower ranked LSG is worse in both aspects.
SRH
After a weak start to the season, SRH made a strong comeback. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan – who are currently in charge of India at their respective positions – have led Hyderabad’s batting. Travis Head’s poor form is a matter of concern, but it is not SRH’s biggest problem.
SRH’s biggest problem earlier arose from the poor form of experienced bowlers like Jaydev Unadkat and Harshal Patel. Harsh Dubey, Prafulla Hinge and Saqib Hussain have been given the responsibility, but their inexperience has been visible from time to time.
Ishan Malinga has been a welcome performer but has essentially become the leader of the attack, at least until Pat Cummins resumes the leadership. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivang Kumar are also young bowlers who have had a tough start in the IPL.
