Cricket opinion: Top five uncapped Indians to watch out for in the 2026 IPL

With the 2026 IPL on the horizon, a lot of the focus will be on the many uncapped Indian players who garnered a lot of attention in the IPL auction.

Sports News Blitz writer Dejan Johal previews the top five uncapped Indians to watch out for in this IPL.

Karthik Sharma - Chennai Super Kings (CSK)

The first player on this list is a power-packed six-hitter from Rajasthan.

Karthik Sharma made history in the IPL auction by becoming the joint-most expensive uncapped Indian player at an IPL auction, when CSK bought him for an incredible 14.2 crore ($1.56 million).

It is a huge gamble for someone who has only played twelve T20s for Rajasthan. However, his stats and numbers are highly impressive.

He has scored 334 runs at an average of just over 30 with a strike rate of close to 163.

It seems as if he will slot into the middle order of CSK’s lineup, with many fans hoping the nineteen-year-old can live up to the expectations and become a real standout in a powerful batting lineup.

As well as potentially the future replacement for M.S Dhoni.

Prashant Veer - CSK

Next on our list is a left-arm spinner who batted at a strike rate of over 155 in the Uttar Pradesh T20 (UPT20) league.

Prashant Veer joined Karthik Sharma as the most expensive uncapped Indian player.

CSK also picked him up for 14.2 crore ($1.56 million) with many people seeing him as a potential replacement for Ravindra Jadeja, who they traded to Rajasthan Royals (RR).

The twenty-year-old enjoyed an encouraging season in the UPT20 season this year, scoring 320 runs as well as picking up eight wickets in the ten matches played.

He then followed that up with 112 runs across five innings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy (SMAT), at a strike rate of close to 170.

With these two expensive picks, CSK are definitely gambling a lot on these two young players.

And you can only hope that these two repay their faith and emerge as genuine match-winners for their side.

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Auqib Nabi - Delhi Capitals (DC)

We move away from CSK and shift our attention now to DC, to someone who picked up a pace bowler and has had an incredible last few seasons.

One of India’s top seam bowlers in the domestic circuit, Auqib Nabi, was bought by Delhi Capitals for 8.4 crore ($923K).

Across two seasons in the Ranji Trophy, he has taken an incredible 104 wickets, with sixty in the second season helping Jammu & Kashmir win their maiden Ranji Trophy.

He has also sharpened his white-ball skills, taking fifteen wickets across seven SMAT matches.

What makes this story so great, however, is that a 29-year-old who has worked very hard for a long time has now emerged as a role model for people from Jammu & Kashmir.

Given the complexities of that area and other regions like that in India, it is wonderful to see a player from there get that kind of money and now be seen as a real role model for others, which shows the true magic and reward of the IPL.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - RR

The next uncapped player to watch out for is quite an obvious one.

Nevertheless, it is important to highlight him for two key reasons: his obvious young age as well as the potential challenges he may face in this season.

Not much more could be said about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's last season.

He was the youngest ever player to get an IPL deal at thirteen years of age. He scored the second-fastest century in the history of the IPL and had 252 runs across seven innings for the Royals last season at a strike rate of over 206.

Since then, he has represented India at the Under-19 level and scored a destructive century in the final of the Under-19 World Cup.

However, the 15-year-old now has to endure a full season of the IPL, as well as an incredible amount of exposure and hype surrounding him from the media.

You can only hope that he focuses solely on his cricket for the upcoming season, as Indian cricket may not have genuinely seen someone this good at such a young age since a 16-year-old Tendulkar.

But Sooryavanshi is definitely one to watch out for this season, for the potential challenges he may face this season, both on and off the field.

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Mangesh Yadav - Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

With RCB management confirming that Yash Dayal will not be playing this season, there is a clear void in the defending champion’s bowling lineup that needs to be filled.

The void will need to be filled by a 23-year-old Mangesh Yadav, whom RCB spent 5.2 crore ($571K) on.

The bowling all-rounder claimed fourteen wickets in six matches in the Madhya Pradesh League at an average of twelve, including three four-wicket hauls with his left-arm pace.

Also, as a lower-order batter, he scored sixty quick runs, including four sixes at a strike rate of over 205.

It will be a lot of pressure for a young man who will now have to play a massive role, with the ball, especially in Dayal’s absence.

However, his left-arm variation, along with his batting ability, makes him a good replacement, with RCB fans hoping he can help them go back-to-back.

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