Hours before the IPL 2026 final between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on May 31, former India spinner and broadcaster Murali Karthik has revealed his team of the tournament on Cricbuzz, and his selection has surprised many.
Many expected names made it to Karthik’s team of the tournament, but he left out Gujarat Titans’ two biggest stars – Shubhman Gill and Rashid Khan. Instead, Karthik rewarded players who performed consistently throughout the tournament and played important roles in their teams’ success.
Shubman Gill was ignored when Murali Karthik revealed his IPL 2026 tournament squad
The biggest attraction of Murali Karthik’s team was Rajasthan Royals’ teenage player Vaibhav Suryavanshi. After setting IPL 2026 on fire with his fearless batting, the 15-year-old was selected as an impact player in Karthik’s Dream XI. Vaibhav finished the season with 776 runs.
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After this he chose Gujarat Titans opener Sai Sudarshan as Vaibhav’s opening partner. The left-handed batsman enjoyed another stellar season and crossed the 700-run mark once again. Despite strong performances at the top, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill failed to find a place at the top of the order.
However, Kohli still got a place in Karthik’s team, but at number three. The RCB superstar once again proved his class by scoring over 600 runs and playing a vital role in his team’s second consecutive IPL final. The broadcaster’s middle order is full of firepower.
Rajat Patidar leads Karthik’s power-packed middle order
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s explosive batsmen Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen and RCB captain Rajat Patidar, who has also been on fire with the bat, were selected in the middle order after match-winning performances throughout the season.
Karthik also chose Patidar as his captain. The RCB captain has not only impressed with the bat, scoring 486 runs at an impressive strike rate of over 196, but has also impressed with his leadership during the ongoing IPL 2026. Last year, Patidar also led RCB to their first IPL title after 17 years.
After this the former Indian spinner strengthened his team with three all-rounders. KKR’s Sunil Narine and RCB’s Krunal Pandya earned their places after making valuable contributions with both bat and ball, while SRH all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was rewarded for his all-round performances this season.
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Pandya scored 225 runs in 15 matches and took 13 wickets. Reddy scored 302 runs in 13 innings and took 8 wickets, while Narayan took 15 wickets in 13 matches. When it came to the bowling attack, Karthik went with the three most successful fast bowlers of IPL 2026.
Murali Karthik’s bowling attack was led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Experienced swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was selected as the pace bowler by Karthik after another impressive season with RCB. Bhuvneshwar has so far taken 26 wickets in 15 matches at an excellent strike rate of 8. He was also joined by Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Joffra Archer, who troubled the batsmen throughout the season and took 25 wickets in 16 matches. He also scored 64 runs for RR.
Current Purple Cap holder Kagiso Rabada completed the bowling attack of the former Indian spinner. The GT fast bowler once again proved why he remains one of the most dangerous fast bowlers in T20 cricket by taking 28 wickets in 16 matches at an impressive economy rate of 9.44.
However, the biggest surprise was the omission of Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill, who has been brilliant with the bat and leads his team with 722 runs in 16 matches.
Murali Karthik’s IPL 2026 team of the tournament: Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Impact Player), Sai Sudarshan, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Rajat Patidar, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Krunal Pandya, Sunil Narine, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jofra Archer and Kagiso Rabada.
