Is IPL 2026 Secretly Turning Into Another 2016 Season?
IPL 2026 has started to remind fans of the IPL 2016 season once again. Gujarat Titans won their previous match against Sunrisers Hyderabad to get the top spot. The same also went in IPL 2016, when Gujarat Lions took the top spot in the table.
The playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2026 edition are coming closer. And the fans are now starting to get Deja Vu of the IPL 2016 season, after taking a look at the points table. Gujarat Titans have turned out to be dominant in the current phases of the tournament, as they head to the top of the table after a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
With this win, Gujarat Titans have also replaced Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the top. GT at 1st, RCB at 2nd, and SRH at the third spot. Looking at this, the cricket fans are now getting reminders of the IPL 2016 season, where the points table looked almost the same. At that time also, the IPL was having a team for Gujarat, which was Gujarat Lions.
During the IPL 2016, Gujarat Lions stood at the top of the table with the most wins. Royal Challengers Bangalore stood 2nd with their NRR being the highest in the top three (similar to what it is in the IPL 2026 season). But, does this mean that RCB is heading to another final or will it be a different script this time?
Our Take
Such things which are happening in the IPL and cricket as a whole this year, just keeps on reminding the fans that 2026 is the new 2016. Virat Kohli being at his best with the bat, Bhuvneshwar Kumar having the Purple Cap for the majority of the games. And now, even the points table in the Indian Premier League looking identical to that of the IPL 2016 season.