Jacob Bethell and Cameron Green could be a big hit: A look at IPL 2026 overseas stars

England's Jacob Bethell was retained by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the Tata-IPL '26. One of the brightest talents going around the world, not only in the Twenty20, but across formats, Bethell has gained reputation to intimidate bowlers with his fearless ways of stroke- making and hitting; a classic example was his dynamite-like, 48-ball 105 with 8 x 4s and 7x 6s in the recent ICC Men's World T20 semifinal against India at the Wankhede Stadium.

The left-hander was England's most steady performer with the bat in World Cup, scoring at 9.13 an over, but will the defending champion of the IPL, RCB find a place for him in its opening campaign against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium this Saturday.

The men in blue had its heart in the mouth when Bethell was in full throttle in the World Cup semifinal. He single-handedly threatened the home team. It would be difficult for any team to not write Bethell's name in the team sheet, but the layman and the discerning is not sure if RCB would fit him in the playing eleven.

The RCB has more or less confirmed that Virat Kohli and England's Phil Salt will start the power play proceedings because this pair made 565 runs in 13 innings and contributed 24.84 % to the team score in the last year's league. The RCB - like all other teams - can field four foreign players in each match and it has other overseas players in West Indian Romario Shepherd, Australians Tim David and Josh Hazlewood (not available for an unspecified time because of a hamstring niggle), Sri Lankan Nuwan Thushara, Kiwi Jacob Duffy and England's Jordon Cox.

In the last year's final, the RCB fielded Salt, Liam Livingstone, Shepherd, and Hazlewood. Livingstone was not retained and Bethell may just take his place in the playing XI. The RCB team management would be hard pressed to overlook a one-man demolition squad like batter in Bethell who played two matches for the Bengaluru team last year in the absence of Salt and made a half century against CSK.

The overseas players do not even form half the playing eleven, but they are a critical cog in the wheel of a team's fortune. After all, it was a smasher like Brendon McCullum who gave a terrific start to the IPL with a 73-ball unbeaten 158 for KKR against the RCB at Bengaluru in 2008. Then, swashbuckling batters like Shane Watson and Jos Buttler made immense impacts in the play offs. And so Bethell, can turn out to be just that and a crowd puller in Bengaluru and other centres with his brand of batting that was seen in the World Cup in India. The RCB has the brilliant Kohli to lead the show, but Bethell knows how to browbeat the bowlers and score runs at a fast clip.

The RCB's new overseas recruits are fast bowler Duffy and the England batter Jordan Cox. Duffy may get opportunities because of the injury to Hazlewood who is a match-winning bowler.

The five-time winner Chennai Super Kings has eight overseas players, with New Zealand's Matt Henry and Zak Foulkes as newcomers along with West Indian left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and Australian Matthew Short. Of this lot, fast bowler Henry could make the difference in the power play and death and Hosein is likely to be useful when he gets the opportunity on slow tracks.

The Delhi Capitals picked England's Ben Duckett, South Africa's David Miller, and Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissaka to bolster its batting department; the first two are all-out attacking players and like to keep the scoreboard moving fast. The Capitals also picked fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi and Kyle Jamieson - both have the skill to take wickets.

Gujarat Titans which won the title on debut under the leadership of Hardik Pandya (now with Mumbai Indians) went for the experienced Jason Holder at the auction with England's Tom Banton and Luke Wood. Holder is a proven allrounder and can be a game changer for skipper Shubman Gill.

The three time winner Kolkata Knight Riders went for an overhaul and bought Australian Cameron Green paying Rs. 25.20 crore (but capped at Rs. 18 crore), Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, Kiwis Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Rachin Ravindra and Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani. Almost all of them are match winners and KKR could be the team to beat this season.

Looking to win the title for the sixth time, Mumbai Indians got Quinton de Kock at Rs. 2 crore at the auction and traded to get West Indian Sherfane Rutherford. The South African left hander can still pack a punch at the top of the order.

The Lucknow Super Giants picked Anrich Nortje, Wahindu Hasaranga, and Australian Jos Inglis, and the Punjab Kings chose Australians Cooper Connolly and Ben Dwarshuis at the player auction.

With most of the teams retaining their core players, it was a matter of finding ways to fill gaps, except for the Kolkata side that spent Rs. 64.30 crore at the auction to revamp its side. Green would return to the IPL after a gap of a year. He has played 29 matches and batted in 28 innings and scored 707 runs at 9.22 an over. In his first year in 2023 for MI he scored a 100* against the Sunrisers. He always looks to score runs, but has not been an achiever with the ball. In the absence of Andrew Russell, KKR would look toward the Australian to play vital roles.

With India winning the World Cup under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, the IPL will generate plenty of interest. The league has proved to be a platform for the uncapped Indian talent to shine, but the league is looked upon by the gifted overseas players to make a mark; someone like Bethell would be keen and eager to take the centre stage. In its first year, the IPL revived the career of Shane Watson—the then Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne had faith in his fellow Australian, and the all-rounder delivered.