Your favourite team lost two in a row and your group chat has already written the obituary.
Deep breaths. It’s been five matches. But also — some of those five matches were genuinely horrifying, and not every 0-2 start is created equal. So here’s what we’re doing: ranking every struggling franchise by how much they should actually panic after IPL 2026’s absolutely unhinged first week. No expert quotes, no “it’s a long tournament” copium. Just real talk.
CSK — Panic Level: Code Red
Record: 0-2 | Folded for 127 in the opener. Lost at HOME despite scoring 209.
Let’s start with the franchise that has half of cricket Twitter in full meltdown mode. CSK got bowled out for 127 against Rajasthan Royals — their lowest total in recent memory — and then posted 209 against PBKS only to watch Punjab chase it down at Chepauk. Two losses. Two completely different ways to lose. That’s the scary part.
Ayush Mhatre’s 73 against PBKS was genuinely exciting — the kid can bat. But when your bright spot is a youngster and your captain is telling the press “allow them to make mistakes,” you’re publicly admitting this is a rebuild, not a title charge. Virender Sehwag has already gone after CSK’s senior batters. The bowling can’t build pressure. MS Dhoni wasn’t even playing.
The counter-argument? Ruturaj Gaikwad is right — long-term investment in youth pays off. Just not in April.
Here’s the thing though. CSK’s problems are structural. KKR’s might be worse.
KKR — Panic Level: Bright Orange
Record: 0-2 | Lost to MI, then got demolished by SRH by 65 runs.
On paper, KKR had one of the strongest auction squads. On the field, they’ve looked like a team that met at the airport. SRH put up 226 with Heinrich Klaasen smashing 52, and KKR responded by collapsing to 161 all out. That’s not a close loss. That’s a beating.
The issues stack up fast: Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy is being questioned two matches in, Varun Chakaravarthy — their biggest weapon — looks off, and Cameron Green can’t bowl thanks to Cricket Australia workload restrictions. So your expensive all-rounder is basically a specialist batter who fields at mid-off.
CSK at least knows it’s rebuilding. KKR thought it was competing. That gap between expectation and reality? That’s where panic lives.
But at least both these teams are getting the attention. Two franchises are failing just as quietly.
GT and LSG — Panic Level: Simmering
GT: 0-1 | LSG: 0-1 | Both yet to open their account.
Wasim Jaffer predicted LSG would finish in the lower half, and Rishabh Pant’s captaincy debut was a disaster — run out for 7 off a freak deflection before LSG lost to Delhi Capitals. One match doesn’t make a crisis. But Pant’s entire LSG project depends on him batting like Pant, not getting out like that.
GT have also lost their only match and their pre-season pace bowling depth took hits. They’re flying under the radar because CSK and KKR are louder fires. But 0-1 is still 0-1, and the points table waits for no one.
Now for the franchise that’s trending for the opposite reason — and why that means absolutely nothing.
PBKS — Panic Level: Negative (But Don’t Celebrate Yet)
Record: 2-0 | Top of the table. 4 points. Chased 210 at Chepauk.
Punjab Kings are leading the IPL 2026 points table and if you’ve watched this franchise for more than one season, you already know the punchline. PBKS always start hot. The vibes are immaculate, Priyansh Arya is swinging, and the chasing sides have won all five matches this season — an unprecedented trend that’s inflating PBKS’s record.
It’s Week 1. This means nothing yet. Screenshot this.
The Actual Takeaway
Here’s what five matches of IPL 2026 have actually told us: CSK’s rebuild is real and painful, KKR’s squad looks better on a spreadsheet than on a pitch, GT and LSG are one bad week from joining the panic club, and PBKS topping the table is the IPL’s favourite prank.
The season is 70 matches long. But the teams that started 0-2 in previous seasons? Only about a third made the playoffs. CSK and KKR aren’t cooked — but the burner is definitely on.