R Ashwin Reveals His Top 4 IPL Teams for 2026; CSK Misses the Cut

Ravichandran Ashwin, the former Indian all-rounder, has revealed his projected top four teams for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, notably leaving out his former team, Chennai Super Kings (CSK). His selections come shortly after the IPL mini-auction held in Abu Dhabi.

Ashwin's first pick is Mumbai Indians (MI), the five-time champions. MI, led by Hardik Pandya, largely maintained their core roster after the retention window last month. They also brought in Sherfane Rutherford from GT, Mayank Markande from KKR, and Shardul Thakur from LSG through trades.

During Tuesday's auction, MI added Quinton de Kock (Rs 1 crore), Danish Malewar (Rs 30 lakh), Mohammed Izhar (Rs 30 lakh), Atharva Ankolekar (Rs 30 lakh), and Mayank Rawat (Rs 30 lakh) to their squad.

For his second choice, Ashwin selected the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). RCB also chose to keep their core group of players intact before the auction.

RCB, who secured their first IPL title earlier this year, signed eight players at the auction, including Venkatesh Iyer (Rs 4 crore) and Jacob Duffy (Rs 2 crore).

Ashwin then named his former teams, Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), as his picks for the remaining playoff spots.

It's worth noting that, with the exception of RR, the other three teams Ashwin selected reached the playoffs in the previous season. He shared his predictions during an interaction on Mumbai Indians' Instagram account.

Ashwin praised Mumbai Indians' acquisition of Quinton de Kock, stating that the franchise took advantage of other teams' hesitation. He believes MI is aiming to recreate their IPL 2020 title-winning formula, even without Ishan Kishan. Ashwin added that despite having a relatively small purse of Rs 2.75 crore, MI effectively strengthened an already strong team and emerged from the auction in an even better position.

"I think the Quinton de Kock buy was a good move. I think the other franchises were sleeping on their haunches, and MI snooped it up. I think MI are not sure about the Rickelton opening combination. I think MI are trying to replicate their IPL 2020 championship squad, only Ishan Kishan is not there," Ashwin stated on his YouTube channel.

"MI had 2.75 crore, but it was as if they had 27 crore, because they bought so many players. MI already had a winning squad before they went into the IPL auction, and now, after the auction, they look even stronger," Ashwin concluded.