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.

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