The best and most lucrative T20 league in the world, Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to kick off on March 28. Ahead of the season, many fans are wondering which teams have the best opening pairs in IPL 2026? Here we will discuss the likely opening combination of each team heading into the tournament, and rank them from best to worst.
The opening pair of any side is crucial as they set the tone for the rest of the innings. A destructive duo can take the game away in the powerplay itself. So let’s dissect the best opening pairs in IPL 2026 and which teams hold an advantage.
Sunrisers Hyderabad boast of the most destructive opening combination in the league. Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head match each other’s freak, and their partnership numbers are simply mind blowing.
In the past two seasons, they have amassed 1202 runs together at an average of 46.23, and they made these at an incredible run-rate of 12.56. Known as Travishek, the duo has four century and five half-century partnerships.
1️⃣7️⃣1️⃣ shades of DESTRUCTION 💥
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 12, 2025
A record partnership from Travis Head & Abhishek Sharma sealed a dominating win for #SRH 🧡
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/RTe7RlXDRq#TATAIPL | #SRHvPBKS | @SunRisers pic.twitter.com/2Xglq22Mrf
Rajasthan Royals will have Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the top of the order in IPL 2026. Last season, the duo opened the innings in seven games and annihilated the opponents.
Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi hammered 422 runs as a pair at an average of 60.28. They scored at a magnificent rate of 12.17 runs per over. It included one century and three half-century stands.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted the curse last season and clinched their maiden title. Their opening duo of Virat Kohli and Phil Salt was one of the key reasons for that.
The RCB pair matched each other’s strengths well and amassed 565 runs at an average of 43.46 while scoring at 10.46 runs per over. RCB have Jacob Bethell as a backup option but despite their contrasting T20 World Cup campaigns, Salt should start ahead of Bethell.
"𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙬𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤." 🗣️
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) April 15, 2025
🎥 Tune in as Salty breaks down his mindset and game plan, shares praise for Virat’s batting, and more! 🙌#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/bGHx3ddaXV
Fourth on the list of the best opening pairs in IPL 2026 are Gujarat Titans, who have Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan. This is arguably the safest pair in the league in regards to wicket preservation.
In IPL 2025, Gill and Sudharsan amassed 912 runs for the opening wicket. The next best in the tournament was 574 by Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh. The GT pair averaged 65.14 and scored at 9.56 runs per over. They registered three hundred and four fifty-run stands.
Lucknow Super Giants ranks fifth among the best opening pairs in IPL 2026, with Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh at the top of the order. The LSG duo did an excellent job last year, and Markram in particular, has been in terrific form in recent times.
Marsh and Markram made 574 runs in the previous edition at an average of 47.83. They did at a run-rate of 9.13, including four fifty and one hundred-run partnership.
Chennai Super Kings acquired Sanju Samson through a trade, and he is expected to open the innings in IPL 2026. CSK are expected to pair Samson with Ayush Mhatre, followed by Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Samson recently starred for India in the T20 World Cup 2026 triumph, smashing three consecutive half-centuries. Mhatre had an impressive season last year with a strike rate of 188, including a 94-run knock. Two joining the forces will be interesting.
Punjab Kings will continue with Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya as their opening pair for IPL 2026. The young player did an excellent job last year despite being inexperienced.
The PBKS openers made 532 runs for the first wicket in the tournament, averaging 31.29 and scoring at 9.55 runs per over. The left-arm combination complements each other, and both batters play with high intent.
Mumbai Indians had an opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton in the previous edition. They made 439 runs together at an average of 34.53 and rate of 9.35. While not the most destructive, they did a decent job.
For this season, MI can go with the same duo or have Quinton de Kock replace Rickelton. The latter is coming off a much better form in the T20 World Cup. However, given that all three of them have issues against spin, it puts them low in this list.
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Delhi Capitals have a lot of uncertainty around the opening pair, which makes it hard to rate them. Going by our assessment, it could be KL Rahul and Ben Duckett.
Rahul has had issues with strike rate while Duckett will be playing in the IPL for the first time. While they can complement each other well, how well and how quickly they click together remains to be seen.
Kolkata Knight Riders is another team which has no clarity on their opening combination. They have Finn Allen and Tim Seifert as the two overseas wicket-keeper openers. Allen is likely to get the nod after his terrific T20 World Cup campaign.
Who will open alongside him is a question mark. Will it be the captain Ajinkya Rahane or will it be Sunil Narine. Either way, KKR do not have a strong pair for IPL 2026.
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