The 19th season of IPL 2026 begins today, Saturday, March 28. The first exciting match will be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad at Bangalore's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The landscape of T20 cricket has completely changed in recent years. Scoring 200 runs in an inning has become easier, and such scores are now common. This year, there is even talk among cricket fans that the 300-run mark might be crossed.

The highest run-scorer in this tournament will receive the Orange Cap, while the bowler with the most wickets will be awarded the Purple Cap. There is intense discussion in the cricketing world about who will be the contenders for both caps this season. Before the start of the competition, many legendary players had predicted the contenders for the Orange Cap, with most names being Indian players. Today, star players like Virat Kohli, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Heinrich Klaasen will take the field, making it likely that the first match will be thrilling.

According to experts from Star Sports, Faf du Plessis has predicted that Virat Kohli will win the Orange Cap. Saba Karim has also backed Kohli. Harbhajan Singh mentioned that Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, or Suryakumar Yadav could all be contenders. Mohammad Kaif and Cheteshwar Pujara have favored Sai Sudharsan. Irfan Pathan has predicted Tilak Varma, Lakshmipathy Balaji has favored KL Rahul, while Piyush Chawla believes Ishan Kishan will win the Orange Cap. Sanjay Bangar has picked Suryakumar Yadav, while Varun Aaron has chosen either Abhishek Sharma or Ishan Kishan as the winner. Looking at these predictions, Virat Kohli and Sai Sudharsan are emerging as the main contenders.

The record for winning the Orange Cap the most times in IPL history belongs to former Australian batsman David Warner. He achieved this honor by scoring the most runs in the 2015, 2017, and 2019 seasons. Chris Gayle won it consecutively in 2011 and 2012, while Virat Kohli has won it twice each in 2016 and 2024. It will be exciting to see if Kohli can achieve this feat again. With high scores expected this season, the competition for the Orange Cap will be highly competitive. This season is set to be unforgettable for cricket fans.