The MPL T20 2026 brings together 10 regional franchises with sharply different squad-building philosophies, and that contrast alone should make this one of the more competitive domestic seasons in recent memory.
Defending champions Bhopal Leopards return with the confidence of a title behind them, while three new franchises arrive hungry to make an instant mark. Some sides have stacked their squads with all-rounders, others lean on batting depth or experienced bowling. Here is how the field breaks down.
MPL T20 Men’s 2026 Teams & Captains
| Team | Captain | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bhopal Leopards | Arshad Khan | Defending Champions |
| Bundelkhand Bulls | Shivang Kumar | Returning Team |
| Chambal Ghariyals | Shubham Sharma | Returning Team |
| Gwalior Cheetahs | Rajat Patidar | Returning Team |
| Indore Pink Panthers | Venkatesh Iyer | Returning Team |
| Jabalpur Royal Lions | Puneet Datey | 2024 Champions |
| Malwa Stallions | Parth Sahani | New Franchise |
| Rewa Jaguars | Sagar Solanki | Returning Team |
| Royal Nimar Eagles | Saransh Jain | New Franchise |
| Ujjain Falcons | Madhav Tiwari | New Franchise |
Bhopal Leopards
Arshad Khan leads the Leopards in as defending champions, and their record speaks to genuine structure rather than a one-off. They won in 2025 and finished runners-up in 2024, reaching back-to-back finals.
The real strength is balance: six all-rounders in a 17-man squad give them the flexibility to reshape the XI by conditions without losing depth. Championship know-how makes them favorites again.
Squad: Aniket Verma, Ansh Bagadia, Suraj Yadav, Pawan Nirwani, Amol Kasture, Yuvraj Nema, Anurag Malviya, Manish Kumar, Arshad Khan, Kamal Tripathi, Pranjul Puri, Himanshu Shinde, Tanishq Yadav, Ajay Mishra, Anchit Singh, Rahul Chandrol, Kunal Rai.
Bundelkhand Bulls
The Bulls play aggressive, uncomplicated cricket. Shivang Kumar leads a young group built around energy rather than experience, with pace spearhead Kuldeep Sen offering genuine zip.
The bowling lacks the seasoning of richer franchises, but young attacks often find rhythm faster because they do not overthink. Their fearlessness can be lethal against cautious opponents, though that same youth can backfire under pressure.
Squad: Parth Goswami, Abhishek Pathak, Rudransh Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Omkarnath Singh, Harshit Parsai, Yash Patidar, Milan Shivhare, Shivang Kumar, Vikrant Bhadoriya, Anant Dubey, Aman Jain, Gautam Joshi, Bhumesh Muzalda, Harsh Gawali, Kushagra Wadhwa.
Chambal Ghariyals
Stung by a runners-up finish in 2025, the Ghariyals made a statement signing Indian pacer Avesh Khan, a marquee addition that signals real title intent. His international pace lifts the entire attack.
Shubham Sharma captains a squad heavy on all-rounders, seven in total, which buys tactical flexibility at the cost of specialism. The model works if those all-rounders deliver consistently with bat and ball.
Squad: Ankush Singh, Rohit Kumar Gupta, Avesh Khan, Akshay Singh, Mayur Singh Patel, Piyush Patel, Yash Kumar Lodhi, Madhur Seth, Shubham Sharma, Aman Bhadoriya, Gautam Raghuvanshi, Harsh Dixit, Tripuresh Singh, Karan Tiwari, Divyanshu Yadav, Apurve Dwivedi.
Gwalior Cheetahs
The Cheetahs are built around star batter Rajat Patidar, one of the most dangerous hitters in the tournament and capable of winning games on his own. Mangesh Yadav, the leading wicket-taker from Season 2, anchors a bowling unit that turns lethal on helpful surfaces.
The catch is dependence: if Patidar fires early, they chase anything, but the lower order has not always covered for him.
Squad: Rajat Patidar, Parth Choudhary, Kartik Parihar, Vandit Joshi, Saumy Pandey, Akash Singh, Ishan Afridi, Anubhav Agarwal, Mangesh Yadav, Arpit Patel, Anil Mourya, Tushar Verma, Varun Shinde, Vikas Sharma, Kuldeep Gehi, Varun Tiwari.
Indore Pink Panthers
Led by quality all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, the Panthers are an all-rounder haven with mystery spinner Shivam Shukla adding a wildcard dimension that can baffle batsmen on turners.
Iyer himself is the main batting anchor, which tells you where the weight sits. The approach thrives when the all-rounders contribute in both disciplines but turns fragile the moment they go quiet with bat or ball.
Squad: Karan Tahliyani, Saransh Bhargava, Shivam Shukla, Roshan Kewat, Akash Rajawat, Vishnu Bhardwaj, Venkatesh Iyer, Anvesh Chawla, Ayaam Verma, Saransh Surana, Shubham Rathore, Lucky Mishra, Sidhant Agrawal, Atharv Joshi, Siddharth Patidar, Mehfooz Patel.
Jabalpur Royal Lions
The 2024 inaugural champions return with several title-winners still in the fold, captained by Puneet Datey. That championship pedigree brings mental toughness, and Mihir Hirwani offers a reliable bowling option through tight spells.
The batting is experienced rather than explosive, suiting a methodical, build-the-innings approach. The open question is whether they can rediscover 2024 form, since recent defending champions have struggled to repeat.
Squad: Arpit Gaud, Akarsh Singh Parihar, Prince Wadhwani, Pankaj Patel, Akshay Sharma, Aayam Sardaana, Mihir Hirwani, Ritwik Diwan, Puneet Datey, Ritik Tada, Nayanraj Mewada, Akshat Dwivedi, Rahul Batham, Ajay Rohera, Abhishek Bhandari.
Malwa Stallions
A brand-new franchise representing the Malwa region, the Stallions pair captain Parth Sahani with experienced campaigners like Ashutosh Sharma and Rishabh Singh Chauhan.
Bowling depth, six options offering variety, is their relative strength, while the batting leans on all-rounders to chip in. New-team hunger could fuel strong early performances, but the lack of settled chemistry may cost them in the tight finishes that decide tournaments.
Squad: Ashutosh Sharma, Akhil Nigote Yadav, Ansh Yadav, Pankaj Sharma, Harshwardhan Singh, Vivek Sharma, Aditya Mishra, Vineet Rawat, Ishan Choudhary, Prashant Kasde, Rishabh Chouhan, Parth Sahani, Aryan Deshmukh, Pawan Yadav, Sachin Vishwakarma, Saksham Purohit, Rakesh Thakur.
Rewa Jaguars
Representing north-eastern Madhya Pradesh, the Jaguars under Sagar Solanki are the tournament’s balanced, unflashy side. The all-rounder-heavy makeup grants tactical flexibility, and Solanki himself brings stability.
The bowling has no standout name, meaning they rely on collective execution rather than individual brilliance. They lack the star power of Gwalior or Bhopal, but well-balanced squads have a habit of outlasting flashier rivals over a long campaign.
Squad: Akshat Raghuvanshi, Atharva Mahajan, Sagar Pratap Singh, Arham Aqueel, Ramveer Singh Gurjar, Ashwin Das, Rohit Rajawat, Prabhanshu Shukla, Ritesh Shakya, Radhakrishna Dwivedi, Sagar Solanki, Prithviraj Tomar, Ankit Singh Kushwaha, Naveen Singh Chouhan, Anant Verma, Jaydev Singh.
Royal Nimar Eagles
The AISECT Group-owned Eagles enter as a new franchise built around captain Saransh Jain and standout left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya Singh, a genuine match-winner on turning tracks.
The batting is again all-rounder-heavy, with experience in the ranks but no shared tournament history. Committed ownership focused on cricketing excellence could show up as strong coaching and support, the kind of backing that helps new sides settle quickly.
Squad: Anand Singh Bais, Abhishek Mavi, Ayan Sreeraj, Kumar Kartikey Singh, Kartik Rajoriya, Parush Mandal, Devendra Singh Katheit, Saransh Jain, Kanishk Dubey, Shantanu Raghuvanshi, Prarabdh Mishra, Pushkar Vishwakarma, Dharmesh Patel, Shivansh Chaturvedi, Shashank Patidar, Himanshu Mantri, Pranit Patidar.
Ujjain Falcons
The youngest of the three new franchises, the Falcons hand the captaincy to Madhav Tiwari and build around emerging talent like Aryan Pandey and Chanchal Rathore. They will play attacking cricket on instinct, which can produce magic and mistakes in equal measure.
Bowling depth is decent across six options, but the absence of a dominant individual means they need clean team execution, and inexperience is the obvious risk in pressure moments.
Squad: Ojaswa Yadav, Shubham Kushwah, Soham Patwardhan, Darshan Rathore, Gajendra Goswami, Adheer Pratap Singh, Aayush Mankar, Masoom Raza Kaif, Naveen Nagle, Vishesh Mudgal, Madhav Tiwari, Aryan Pandey, Ankur Singh Chouhan, Rishi Miglani, Harshvardhan Hardia, Chanchal Rathore, Yash Dubey.
The Verdict: Reputation Opens Doors, But Pressure Decides the Title
The MPL T20 2026 looks more competitive than most domestic tournaments. Bhopal Leopards enter as favorites on the strength of championship experience and squad balance, but Gwalior Cheetahs and Chambal Ghariyals carry enough firepower to flip a game in a single over.
The new franchises could surprise everyone with fearless, unburdened cricket. In a field this even, reputation only takes a team so far. Momentum, captaincy, and composure in the big moments will separate the playoff sides from the rest, and fans should expect close contests, upsets, and plenty of entertainment through June.