Indians won fewer POTM than foreigners despite batting dominance:Overseas bowlers’ rising authority, better under pressure

Once upon a time, overseas power-hitters headlined the IPL and formed the template. Players like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Pollard, and Warner set the tempo of the league. However, IPL 2026 changed the picture. Now, Indian batsmen are determining the course of the match. This season, Indian batsmen scored runs with a more aggressive strike rate than foreigners. However, the story was reversed in bowling. While Indian bowlers looked under pressure throughout the season, overseas bowlers proved more effective despite being fewer in number. Let’s take a look at how the performance of Indian and foreign players in 2026 compares to the previous season. 1. Indian batters have better SR than overseas batters Earlier, Indian batsmen were seen in an anchor role, and the responsibility of fast batting rested with foreign players. Now, Indian players are playing attacking cricket from the start and controlling the tempo of the match. In IPL 2026, the average strike rate of Indian batsmen was 157.01. Last season, this figure was only 152. Meanwhile, foreign batsmen averaged a strike rate of 155.37. Last season, overseas batsmen scored runs at a strike rate of around 153. 2. Indian bowlers seemed under more pressure This season, Indian bowlers took 506 wickets compared to 533 wickets in 2025. Their economy increased from 9.42 to 9.79. Foreign bowlers also proved to be more expensive this time compared to last season, yet they remained more economical than Indian bowlers. 3. Indian players win fewer POTM awards This season, 53 players were awarded Player of the Match. These included 31 Indian and 22 foreign players. Among Indians, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, and Sanju Samson received this award the most, 3 times each. Last season, too, 53 players were chosen as Player of the Match. Among them, 35 Indian and 18 foreign players received this award. Among Indians, Shreyas Iyer and Krunal Pandya were chosen Player of the Match the most, 3 times each. This season, batsmen’s strike rate and average both increased It is often said in cricket that if you want to increase batting average, you have to sacrifice strike rate, and if you want to increase strike rate, you have to compromise on average. This time, this adage seems to be failing. This season, an increase has been recorded in both overall batting average and strike rate compared to the previous season. The number of fours, sixes, centuries, and half-centuries have also increased compared to 2025. Bowlers proved to be more expensive In 2025, a total of 829 wickets fell, while in 2026, this number decreased to 813. The bowlers’ average increased from 31.42 to 32.45. This means more runs were spent to take a wicket than before. The economy rate was also the most expensive in IPL history. Compared to 2025, the economy increased from 9.50 to 9.76.