Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad will begin the 19th season of the Indian Premier League when they meet at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28.
In the recent past, the IPL has established itself as a finishing school for some of the brightest young talents in global cricket, with new faces coming through and impressing every year. In 2025, the likes of Priyansh Arya, Digvesh Rathi, and Ayush Mhatre all made waves in their maiden outings at the tournament.
Ahead of the 2026 season, here are five players that could be in line for their IPL debuts:
Kartik Sharma (Chennai Super Kings)
Kartik Sharma is a wicketkeeper-batter from Rajasthan known for his explosive lower-order hitting. Chennai Super Kings secured the 19-year-old’s signature for a whopping Rs. 14.20 crore in December’s auction, making him the joint-most expensive uncapped player in IPL history to add to its middle-order batting depth.
Kartik burst into prominence for his performances in domestic cricket, scoring 133 runs in five matches at a strike rate of over 160 for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26. He is likely to bat in the middle-order for CSK as it looks to continue moving towards a more aggressive batting approach this season.
Read more about Kartik Sharma here.
Prashant Veer (L) and Kartik Sharma (R) are the joint-most expensive uncapped players in IPL history.
| Photo Credit:
R RAGU
Prashant Veer (Chennai Super Kings)
Sharing the title of joint-most expensive uncapped player in IPL with Kartik is all-rounder Prashant Veer, who CSK spent similarly jaw-dropping amounts on to bring into the fold. Veer, who hails from UP, is a left-arm spinner and powerful lower-order batter akin to CSK legend Ravindra Jadeja.
Veer first came to prominence playing for Noida Super Kings in the UP T20 League, where he gathered 320 runs at an impressive strike rate of 155.34, smashing 14 sixes. He also made his debut for Uttar Pradesh in all three formats in domestic cricket in 2025, taking 24 wickets from 20 appearances. Veer is likely to bat in the lower-order for CSK and form half of its spin-bowling unit along with Noor Ahmad.
Read more about Prashant Veer here.
Auqib Nabi (Delhi Capitals)
Auqib Nabi was the star of Jammu and Kashmir’s run in the Ranji Trophy.
Auqib Nabi was the star of Jammu and Kashmir’s run in the Ranji Trophy.
| Photo Credit:
K MURALI KUMAR
Auqib Nabi has distinguished himself as one of the finest seam-bowling operators on the domestic circuit. Known for his ability to move the ball, Nabi was the star of Jammu and Kashmir’s fairytale run to the Ranji Trophy title this year, taking 60 wickets at 12.56 including five wickets in the final against Karnataka.
However, he is equally adept with a white ball in hand, and his short-form prowess prompted Delhi Capitals to spend Rs. 8.40 crore on him. He is likely to slip into a pace battery also featuring Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi, T Natarajan, and Mukesh Kumar, and could potentially contribute some handy lower-order runs as well.
Read more about Auqib Nabi here.
Blessing Muzarabani (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Blessing Muzarabani will be looking to make his first IPL appearance.
| Photo Credit:
B JOTHI RAMALINGAM
Blessing Muzarabani will be looking to make his first IPL appearance.
| Photo Credit:
B JOTHI RAMALINGAM
Blessing Mizarabani was one of the stars of Zimbabwe’s run to the Super Eights at the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2026, taking 13 wickets – the second-highest tally in the tournament. An imposing 6 ‘8’, Muzarabani has built up an impressive international record across all three formats for Zimbabwe by moving the new ball and extracting extra bounce off a good length.
Muzarabani was a late-season replacement for Royal Challengers Bengaluru last season, but did not make an appearance. This year, Kolkata Knight Riders signed him up as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman after it was directed to replace the Bangladeshi quick, and the lanky quick could be one of the leaders of a Knight Riders attack that has been struck badly by injury.
Salil Arora (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Punjab has proved to be a fertile ground for white-ball cricketers, with the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Arshdeep Singh, and Naman Dhir all making a name for themselves. 23-year-old Salil Arora could well prove the next name to break through with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
A wicketkeeper-batter, Arora scored a century on his Ranji Trophy debut, and set the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 alight with his middle-order batting. Arora smashed 358 runs, the second-most in the competition, at a blistering 198.88. He also hit 28 sixes, the second-most behind only Ishan Kishan.
Arora would likely fit into the SRH middle-order behind the likes of Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Liam Livingstone.
