With 39 matches already done, IPL 2026 has crossed the halfway stage. By this point, it is perfectly clear which teams are struggling and which are doing well.
Every team's position is ultimately a function of their strengths and weaknesses. Although some teams have been successful, they haven't been without their fair share of problems.
In this article, we will look at the biggest problems plaguing each IPL 2026 team at this stage in the season.
IPL 2026 Mid-Season Check: Biggest Problem for Each Team
Mumbai Indians' IPL 2026 side arguably contains too much star-power to be able to be handled by one leadership group. There's MI's five-time IPL winning skipper - Rohit Sharma, who has also won the T20 World Cup as captain. Three players who were a part of the back-to-back T20 World Cup-winning Indian side - skipper Hardik Pandya, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, and pace ace Jasprit Bumrah.
Tilak Varma's inclusion means that this MI side contains four players from India's 2026 T20 World Cup-winning squad. More than any other team in this year's IPL.
With all these stars in the team, the controversial nature of Hardik Pandya's captaincy has imploded upon the Mumbai Indians. Prior to the 2024 season, MI had traded in then Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya and handed him the reins of their team. The move was widely criticised as Pandya led the team to a last-place finish.
In 2026, Mumbai have been struggling just like that. Hardik Pandya's poor form with both bat and ball has started affecting his captaincy. MI now lie ninth on the points table with just 2 wins in 7 matches.
But an analysis of MI's problems wouldn't be complete until the Jasprit Bumrah-shaped hole is addressed. Bumrah hasn't been among the wickets this year, and that has just compounded MI's problems. With both Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult unable to live up to expectations, MI's over-reliance on Bumrah has just made things for their bowling worse.
This also means that Pandya, as captain, has been unable to properly manage the rotation of bowlers and try to address the out-of-form batters, either.
CSK
The one big topic of discussion about CSK this year has been the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Without him, CSK's middle order has been unable to put in consistent performances. Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube have not lived up to their potential. Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer - the two big-ticket uncapped buys - haven't delivered according to expectations.
With a weak middle-order, CSK have been forced to over-reliance on the top. Sanju Samson has made two centuries, but has been inconsistent otherwise. Ruturaj Gaikwad is going through a patch of very poor form, and Ayush Mhatre was injured. CSK have brought in Urvil Patel and Sarfaraz Khan, but it remains to be seen if they can do anything.
Even though Anshul Kamboj is the Purple Cap holder, the rest of CSK's pace attack hasn't caught up with him. Khaleel Ahmed was ruled out with an injury, and Akash Madhwal is yet to play. Jamie Overton has gone hot and cold. And Gurjapneet Singh too has been inconsistent. Matt Henry started the season but got dropped after poor performances. This weak pace attack has also compounded CSK's problems.
KKR's problems in IPL 2026 started even before the season actually began. Mustafizur Rahman was pseudo-banned, Matheesha Pathirana was out for at least half the season, and Harshit Rana was ruled out of IPL 2026 completely.
All of this has taken a hit on KKR's death bowling as Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora, and Navdeep Saini have been unable to pick up the slack. In the last four overs, KKR are placed 7th by bowling economy this year.
KKR's other problem is the number of top-order options. KKR had a lot of players in their ranks who preferred batting in the top four. Skipper Rahane has opened in all of KKR's matches, but it hasn't helped. Finn Allen came in with hype and flopped hard. Tim Seifert hasn't been better. Cameron Green has been batting in the middle order and has only found his feet recently. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has somehow been their only rock in this phase.
And then the elephant in the room. Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy. Even prior to this season, Rahane had one of the poorest captaincy records in the IPL. His mishandling of KKR's resources has grown that problem even more. KKR are now eighth on the points table.
RCB
PC: XAlmost everything has gone right for RCB. The two losses have been aberrations, really. But in IPL 2026, RCB's biggest problem has been spin bowling.
RCB's batters and pacers have been playing very well this year, but the spinners have been a little unreliable. Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma have been inconsistent. This inconsistency has contributed to RCB being strictly mid-table in terms of both average and economy of their spin bowlers.
Even though Krunal is RCB's second-highest wicket-taker this year, he has the worst economy of all RCB bowlers who've bowled at least 15 overs in IPL 2026.
Delhi Capitals have been struggling with both form and injuries. Mitchell Starc is yet to play this season, and Lungi Ngidi got a severe injury in their last match.
None of their bowlers averages under 27 this season, and Ngidi was among the best in that aspect. Mukesh Kumar and T Natarajan, for instance, have been averaging more than 50 with the ball.
Delhi's form issues have extended to the bat as well. Pathum Nissanka and Axar Patel have not really lived up to expectations with the bat, and even KL Rahul was blowing hot and cold before his stunning 152*.
Nitish Rana, too, didn't do much before making two fifties in the last three matches. Tristan Stubbs and David Miller have been the only consistent players for them with the bat.
GT
Since last year, Gujarat Titans have followed a template where their top three - Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler - would do the bulk of the scoring and the middle order would simply tie up the loose ends. This year, the middle order has been unable to do so. Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, and Washington Sundar have not been able to put in the minimal contributions either.
This has ultimately led to GT ending up with below-par totals more often than not while batting first. GT have lost both matches where they have batted first in IPL 2026. While chasing though, they've won four and lost two. Against MI, Tilak Varma outscored the Titans by himself.
By economy, Titans have been the second-worst team in the last four overs this year. Jason Holder entered the side recently, but Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Ashok Sharma haven't been able to cut it in the end phase.
Batting has been Lucknow's biggest problem in the IPL this year. Their key batters, Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran, have been woefully out of form. LSG have also been chopping and changing their line-up a little. Especially at the top.
Rishabh Pant opened with Mitchell Marsh to start the season, but LSG went back to Marsh opening with Aiden Markram. That only lasted so long as Ayush Badoni was sent to open with Marsh for two matches, with Aiden Markram dropping down to No. 5.
Lucknow have also been the worst bowling side by economy in the last four overs in IPL 2026. Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan have been revelations, but Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, and Digvesh Rathi have been completely out of their element. Mayank Yadav played one match, but that did not go to plan.
PBKS
It is very logical to conclude that the team that is yet to lose a match has no real weaknesses. But that is not really true. While Punjab Kings are by and far the best batting side of IPL 2026, that is not the case with the ball.
Punjab Kings are a bottom-three bowling side in terms of both the average and the economy of their fast bowlers this year. Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett have simply been underwhelming with the ball, even when the very flat pitches are taken into account.
Punjab have used Yuzvendra Chahal as their primary spinner, but he has taken just 4 wickets in 7 matches with an average of 51. In fact, the only PBKS bowler who averages less than 30 in IPL 2026 is Shashank Singh.
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Last year, the Rajasthan Royals finished ninth after infamously failing to close out chase after chase. Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel were the main culprits last year.
Despite their strong season, the problem has persisted. Dhruv Jurel was promoted to No. 3, but the middle order of Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Hetmyer, and Ravindra Jadeja has left much to be desired.
Collectively, RR's middle order (4-7) are the second worst in IPL 2026 by both average and strike rate. Only the bottom-placed LSG's are worse than them in both aspects.
SRH
After a weak start to the season, SRH bounced back strongly. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan - who are currently India's incumbents in their respective positions - have led Hyderabad's batting march. Travis Head's poor form is a concern, but that is not SRH's biggest problem.
SRH's biggest problem earlier stemmed from the poor form of experienced bowlers like Jaydev Unadkat and Harshal Patel. Harsh Dubey, Praful Hinge, and Sakib Hussain have been given the responsibilities, but their inexperience has shown from time to time.
Eshan Malinga has been a welcome performer, but has essentially become the leader of the attack, at least until Pat Cummins resumes leadership. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivang Kumar are also young bowlers who have had harsh initiations into the IPL.
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