Why has IPL 2026 failed to deliver so far?
Say what you will, the Indian Premier League doesn’t feel the same this year. There is no real energy around matches. At best, it’s just been passable so far, 11 matches into the season. Why though? There could be multiple reasons, but one that could be right at the top is the absence of MS Dhoni and other players.
Like him or dislike him, there is no doubt that the former India captain continues to be a fan favourite today. Despite retiring from international cricket six years ago, he continues to be a crowd puller. What he does with his bat or gloves is irrelevant now. He just has to be on the field. Sadly for fans, Dhoni picked up a calf injury days before the season got underway and is likely to be out of action for another week.
What could be linked with Dhoni’s absence is also the fact that CSK have lost all three of their matches so far. CSK are five-time champions and over the years have been the most popular franchise in the IPL. But in recent years, they have struggled, and this period has also coincided with Dhoni not being the same player and not being the captain of the side.
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya and Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill have also missed one match each. They have their own fan following, and it may have affected the general intensity in some way. Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and Mitchell Starc (Delhi Capitals) have been absent too in the first few matches.
Also, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are not that important or relevant anymore, so we need new megastars. Just stars won’t do. David Warner, Adam Zampa and Steven Smith now play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL); irrespective of whether or not they would have been great buys in light of their degrading performances in the last few years in the league, the fact of the matter is, they have some serious fan following in world cricket.
Besides, it’s a longer league now. In 2022, two new teams — Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans — joined the league, making it a 10-team affair. What the governing council may not have realised at the time was that the increased number of matches eventually might induce boredom.
How can you beat the T20 World Cup win high?
Another thing, last month India hosted the T20 World Cup along with Sri Lanka, so fans have been watching high-quality cricket for some time now, on TV as well as from the stadia. Then India also won the event, which means euphoria among fans reached a high that can’t be exceeded now. There is no comparison between India winning a trophy and an IPL side winning a trophy.
Then the war in West Asia and the Middle East has brought the spirits down. The struggling classes of the country — a significant number — are rather bothered about how to afford a gas cylinder for cooking. When issues like that affect a large population, it’s going to affect the IPL too. Then, daily news reports that the war may intensify and drag on, like the Russia-Ukraine conflict, have made things worse. The general atmosphere in the country is not exactly buoyant.
The dull character of the IPL so far is expected to continue until we get closer to the play-offs. The status quo can change, but there have to be some out-of-the-ordinary performances on display, particularly from players like Vaibhav Sooravanshi and Ayush Mhatre.
Ashok Sharma of Gujarat Titans clocked almost 155 km/h in one of the matches. Kartik Tyagi of Kolkata Knight Riders reached almost 150 km/h. The IPL needs more such larger-than-life exploits, particularly from Indian players.
