Top News

IPL 2026 Orange Cap Race: The batsmen are in great form in IPL 2026, where players of almost every team are scoring runs in an aggressive manner. But the biggest discussion of this season is about Gujarat Titans (GT) star batsman Sai Sudarshan, who was in the headlines by winning the Orange Cap last year i.e. in IPL 2025, but this time till now his batting has not reached that level.

After five matches, Sai Sudarshan is out of the top-10 list of Orange Cap and has currently slipped to 36th position in the batsmen’s rankings, which is quite surprising compared to his excellent performance last season. However, he can once again make a comeback in this race by playing a strong innings in the match against Mumbai Indians at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Sudarshan’s performance so far

Sai Sudarshan has scored 135 runs in 5 matches so far this season. His average has been around 27 and the strike rate is 146.73. Although these figures can be considered decent for T20, but considering the explosive form of last season, this performance is below expectations.

He has scored only one half-century so far, in which his highest score has been 73 runs. He could not succeed in playing big innings in the remaining matches, due to which the team could not get full benefit of his experience.

Who is ahead in the race for Orange Cap?

The race for the Orange Cap remains very exciting this season. Talking about the top 10, many big names and young players are leading in this race:

1. Heinrich Klaasen (SRH) – 283 runs
2. Shubman Gill (GT) – 251 runs
3. Virat Kohli (RCB) – 247 runs
4. Vaibhav Suryavanshi (RR) – 246 runs
5. Rajat Patidar (RCB) – 230 runs
6. Cooper Connolly (PBKS) – 223 runs
7. Yashswi Jaiswal (RR) – 223 runs
8. Ishan Kishan (SRH) – 213 runs
9. Priyansh Arya (PBKS) – 211 runs
10. Prabhsimran Singh (PBKS) – 211 runs

Apart from this, batsmen like Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer (208 runs) and RCB’s Phil Salt (202 runs) are also in this race by scoring runs continuously.

dominance of young players

The special thing about this season is that the young batsmen have given tough competition to the experienced players. Players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya are creating a new identity by scoring runs with a high strike rate.

At the same time, veterans like Klaasen and Kohli have remained on top due to their consistency, which has made this match even more interesting.

Will Sudarshan make a comeback?

In cricket, form is temporary and class is permanent – ​​this saying fully applies to Sai Sudarshan. He has both experience and technique, through which he can make a comeback in the coming matches.

It will also be important for Gujarat Titans that their star batsman returns to form soon, because the team will need his big scores in the race for the playoffs.

While new stars are shining in IPL 2026, last season’s star player Sai Sudarshan is seen struggling at the moment. However, the tournament is still long and they will have every chance to make a comeback in the coming matches.