India, March 16 -- The easiest mistake to make before an IPL season is to flatten the league into one lazy benchmark. Make the playoffs, and you have done well. Win the title, and you have had a great year. Finish outside the top four, and you have failed. It sounds tidy, but it is also nonsense. The IPL is too uneven, too expensive, too emotionally overclocked for success to mean the same thing to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings, or to Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

That is especially true in 2026. The season begins on March 28 and runs to May 31, with only the first phase scheduled released so far. RCB come in as defending champions after beating the Punjab Kings in the 2025 final. Last year's top four were PBKS...