IPL 2026 Preview: Lucknow and Delhi look to bounce back in season opener

Lucknow. Both Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals failed to reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs last season. While not entirely overhauled, both teams have revamped themselves to some extent ahead of IPL 2026. However, the similarities between the two do not end there.

Ahead of their first match, Lucknow will be without Wanindu Hasaranga, whom they signed for 20 million INR. The all-rounder has yet to arrive in India as he is awaiting clearance from Sri Lanka Cricket's fitness test. Similarly, Delhi will miss Mitchell Starc, retained for 117.5 million INR, for the opening games as he recovers from shoulder and elbow injuries.

Considering the red soil pitch in Lucknow, the team might field fast bowler Anrich Nortje in place of Hasaranga, but they do not want to rely solely on their overseas batters Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran. Last IPL, these three scored over 400 runs each, while all of Lucknow's Indian batters combined for only 835 runs.

Another question is where Rishabh Pant will bat. In the final match of 2025, he batted at number 3 and scored an unbeaten 118, while Pooran played 12 of his 14 innings at that same position last season. Since the 2025 IPL, Pooran has played 20 innings at number 3 across various leagues, while Pant has not played any T20 matches.

Delhi also needs to work on its top order. Two days before the match, Pathum Nissanka had a long practice session with KL Rahul, and they may open the innings.

Nitish Rana, who was the top scorer for Delhi in the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, played 5 of his 7 innings at number 3, and he could take that spot for Delhi as well.

In previous encounters, Delhi leads 4-0 against Lucknow, including two victories in Lucknow. Playing at home on Wednesday, Lucknow will be hoping to avoid worsening this poor record.

Team News

If Nortje plays in place of Hasaranga, Lucknow will have to use an Indian batter as an Impact Sub. Apart from those likely to be in the starting eleven, other options include Akshat Raghuvanshi, Mukul Chaudhary, and Himmat Singh. Lucknow head coach Justin Langer has confirmed that Mayank Yadav is fit and will start the season.

• Lucknow (Probable): 1 Mitchell Marsh*, 2 Aiden Markram*, 3 Nicholas Pooran*, 4 Rishabh Pant (c, wk), 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Akshat Raghuvanshi/Himmat Singh, 8 Shahbaz Ahmed, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Mayank Yadav, 11 Digvesh Rathi, 12 Anrich Nortje*

Delhi might field another left-arm pacer, T. Natarajan, in place of Starc. As an overseas fast bowler, Sri Lankan pacer Dushmantha Chameera might get a chance instead of Lungi Ngidi. Unlike Lucknow, Delhi has strong middle-order batters like Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, and David Miller. Aqib Nabi, who performed exceptionally well in the 2025-26 domestic season, is likely to make his IPL debut.

• Delhi (Probable): 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Pathum Nissanka*, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Tristan Stubbs*, 5 Axar Patel (c), 6 David Miller*, 7 Ashutosh Sharma, 8 Vipraj Nigam, 9 Aqib Nabi, 10 Dushmantha Chameera*, 11 Kuldeep Yadav, 12 T. Natarajan

Players to Watch

• Mayank Yadav

Mayank Yadav gained sudden fame in the 2024 IPL by bowling at speeds of 150 km/h. However, due to injuries, he has played only seven competitive matches across all formats in about two years.

Having dropped out midway through the 2024 IPL and missing the 2025 season entirely, Mayank is fit and ready to play this time. Will this season finally prove fruitful for him?

• Nitish Rana

Nitish Rana is representing his third different IPL team in three consecutive seasons. He played only two games for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 when they won the title, and scored only 217 runs in 11 innings for Rajasthan Royals in 2025.

However, Rana enters IPL 2026 as the top scorer for Delhi in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. If Delhi plays him at number 3, he will have the opportunity to play long innings in the IPL as well.

Stats and Interesting Facts

• Kuldeep Yadav seems successful against Pant in T20s. The left-arm wrist spinner has dismissed Pant three times in 25 balls while conceding only 23 runs.
• Since matches began at Lucknow's Ekana Stadium in 2023, the run rate has increased in every IPL. The run rate, which was 7.36 per over in the first season, reached 8.94 in 2024 and 9.83 in 2025.

Pitch and Weather

Pitch number 4 will be used for Wednesday's match at Ekana Stadium. In the last IPL, the average first-innings score here was 187, slightly lower than the 203 in 2024.

The temperature in Lucknow is expected to be 28 degrees Celsius in the evening, with no chance of rain.

What they said?

'There is pressure every season. I have been in this field for a long time. I have been under pressure for 30 years. Every time I batted, I was under pressure. Every time I took over team coaching, I was under pressure. Every time.'

– Lucknow head coach Justin Langer, on how to handle pressure.

'In India, there are good pitches for batting and small grounds. So it is difficult to bowl in such conditions - especially for fast bowlers. So we have to prepare well mentally.'

– Delhi fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, expressing readiness for the challenge.