Top 5 talented players benched throughout IPL 2026

The 2026 season of the Indian Premier League has seen its close, as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat the Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final on May 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The 2026 season saw many brilliant youngsters break out and make their mark on the world stage, but at their expense, multiple star players went under the radar, unable to get game time despite being reliable big names with significant experience behind them. Here we look at five such players who were unable to get a game in IPL 2026. Here are five players who were unable to get a game in IPL 2026: 5) Umran Malik - Kolkata Knight Riders Umran Malik (Photo Source: umran_malik_1/Instagram) Jammu & Kashmir speedster Umran Malik’s return to the IPL in 2026 was a much-anticipated event. The fast bowler took the IPL by storm with his pace in his debut season, but has been significantly impacted by injuries. With this in mind, fans were excited to once again see his fiery pace rattling batters in the IPL season. Despite the Knight Riders suffering significant injuries in their pace department, Umran was not given a game, which left many fans puzzled. The team chose to rely on the accuracy and hit-the-deck abilities of Kartik Tyagi, who played a key role with back-end wickets. While the reasons for his omission are unknown, his exclusion leaves question marks due to the way he burst onto the scene 4) Shreyas Gopal - Chennai Super Kings Shreyas Gopal (Photo Source: shreyasg0519/Instagram) Shreyas Gopal has long been one of the stalwarts in domestic cricket, and has been one of the best spinners in terms of numbers in the white ball formats for Karnataka in the white ball formats. The leg-spinner picked up 18 wickets in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy and picked up an impressive 48 scalps in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy. Despite this, he was not given a game with the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2026. Gopal is also a stalwart of the IPL, playing over 50 games for three different teams. His experience on the field could have been vital for the Super Kings as they brushed off poor form early in the season to make a dramatic resurgence towards the end of the season. 3) Mangesh Yadav - Royal Challengers Bengaluru Mangesh Yadav (Photo Source: mangeshyadav_/Instagram) Mangesh Yadav was signed as a highly-rated prospect by the champions RCB for a whopping INR 5.20 crore. An accurate left-arm seamer who bowls in all phases and can provide handy batting in the lower order, he came into the IPL without much domestic experience behind him, but his skills ensured the franchise could take an opportunity on him. After the exclusion of Yash Dayal due to personal circumstances, Mangesh was expected to feature due to his left-arm seam option. But RCB decided to go with Abhinandan Singh and Rasikh Salam Dar, the latter of whom was a reliable threat for the champions. 2) Gurnoor Brar - Gujarat Titans Gurnoor Brar (Photo Source: gurnoorsbrar/Instagram) It came as a surprise when fast-bowler Gurnoor Brar was selected to the Indian team for the series against Afghanistan following the IPL. Despite playing just one IPL match in 2023, he has picked up a whopping 52 wickets for Punjab in 18 first-class games, and is a highly-rated hit-the-deck bowlers in the domestic game. Playing for the Gujarat Titans, who value his archetype of a bowler, it is surprising that Brar was unable to get a match for the Titans even with multiple alterations to their bowling attack, as multiple players took up the role of the fifth bowler. Signed by the Titans for a significant INR 1.30 crore fee, he is yet to play a game for them since 2025. 1) Prithvi Shaw - Delhi Capitals Prithvi Shaw (Photo Source: prithvishaw/Instagram) Prithvi Shaw’s career has gone through significant ups and downs due to off-field controversies, but no one can deny the talent he possesses with the bat. The opening batter, moving to Maharashtra to revive his domestic career, scored vital runs in all formats for the team. The Capitals suffered a crisis midway through their season as to who would partner KL Rahul at the top of the order due to Pathum Nissanka's form. While Shaw’s performances and history with the franchise would have ideally given him the edge, the franchise overlooked him and went with Abhishek Porel and Sahil Parakh.

Topics

Featured Section

Current Series

IPL 2025 Auction

IPL Teams

Cricket Stats

ICC Rankings

Interviews

Twitter Reactions

Cricket Appeal

Social Tracker

More Links

# Follow Us

Other Sports

Top 5 talented players benched throughout IPL 2026

Here are five players who were unable to get a game in IPL 2026.

4) Shreyas Gopal - Chennai Super Kings

Latest Articles

S Ramesh slams team management ahead of IND vs AFG 2026 Test

IPL 2026: 5 surprise performers who stole the show

Richard Pybus looks ahead to AFG's challenge of facing IND