As anticipation builds for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, team combinations and squad balance have become key talking points, especially when analysing IPL 2026 teams. Considering the nature of the tournament, a strong spin attack is crucial for controlling the middle overs, picking wickets, and adapting to pitches across venues in India, especially in modern-day T20 cricket.
However, several franchises appear to struggle in their spin bowling department, lacking either experienced spinners, reliable backups, or match-winning options. Here in this article, we have listed three teams who are likely to find a bit of difficulty with their spin options going into IPL 2026; let’s take a closer look.
3 Teams with weakest spin units ahead of IPL 2026
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
The Rishabh Pant-led LSG have a limited spin depth coming into the IPL 2026. While the squad has a proven wicket-taking spin option in Wanindu Hasaranga, his injury problem remains a big concern. He was ruled out of T20 World Cup due to an injury and there’s been no update since. At a ground like Ekana, you need an experience spinner.
However, the squad also has Digvesh Rathi, who played a key role in IPL 2025 where he picked 14 wickets in 13 matches and gave crucial breakthroughs; the lack of relative experience at the highest level could put the LSG on the backfoot. M Siddarth and Shahbaz Ahmed are there as left-arm spinners.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
SRH head into IPL 2026 with a clear concern around their inexperienced spin department, which might be one of the worst in the entire league. They really needed to go after Ravi Bishnoi at the IPL 2026 auction but failed to acquire his services.
While the squad includes promising names like Krains Fuletra, Praful Hinge and Zeeshan Ansari, all three remain relatively unproven at the IPL level, with no big-match experience required to dominate across a long tournament. They already have no new ball pacer apart from Pat Cummins and will need their new spin-bowling talent to punch above their weight.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
MI have a few notable concerns in their spin-bowling department. While the Mumbai-based franchise has Mitchell Santner as their frontline spinner and also has Will jacks and Allah Ghazanfar, both of whom can be used in some conditions but lack an experienced Indian campaigner in the spin department. Also, with Trent Boult and an overseas keeper there, MI can’t play all three of Santner, Ghazanfar and Jacks. Jacks’ spin quality is still a question mark on high-scoring pitches. Santner, meanwhile, isn’t a wicket-taking threat but rather a runs suppressor.
Among Indians, Mayank Markande, Raghu Sharma and Atharva Ankolekar are other options, but they lack experience in high-pressure games – a notable point to be taken care of in a demanding tournament like the IPL.
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