Nathan Ellis, Chahal's Chess Prowess & RCB

With the 2026 IPL cricket season rapidly approaching, fans and pundits alike are getting excited by the prospect of enjoying a highly competitive sport. One IPL player who may be looking forward to this season in a different way is Yuzvendra Chahal, while Nathan Ellis is probably not.

Chahal has recently spoken about his decision to quit drinking alcohol. Heading into the 2026 IPL season, he has also spoken about his incredible chess accomplishments and why he played chess in the first place.

Additionally, a new report reveals that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are one of the most popular and valuable IPL franchises.

CSK Lose Nathan Ellis

According to CricToday, the Chennai Super Kings are losing bowler Nathan Ellis for the entire 2026 IPL season.

The outlet reveals that Ellis has a hamstring injury and is unlikely to recover in time to play this year.

IPL Teams Ranked From Most Valuable to Least Valuable

One thing that has been on the tip of some fans’ tongues is the value of each IPL team. Luckily, for those who are curious, someone has brought to light which team is the most valuable.

X account Indian Tech & Infra has published the brand values of all 10 IPL teams.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru – $269 M

Mumbai Indians – $242 M

Chennai Super Kings – $235 M

Kolkata Knight Riders – $222 M

Sunrisers Hyderabad – $154 M

Delhi Capitals – $152 M

Rajasthan Royals – $146 M

Gujarat Titans – $142 M

Punjab Kings – $141 M

Lucknow Super Giants – $122 M

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, being the top team, makes sense within this context. After all, they did just win the IPL title for the first time in 2025, and they also have one of the greatest players on their team, Virat Kohli.

Which IPL Team Has the Most Fans?

It’s truly difficult to get a complete and accurate read on which team has the most fans. However, one of the wonderful perks of social media is the ability to include followers.

So here are the IPL teams with the biggest fanbases, based on their X and Instagram follower counts.

Chennai Super Kings – 32.1 Million Followers (10.6 M Followers on X, 21.5 M Instagram Followers)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 29.2 Million Followers (7.3 M Followers on X, 21.9 M Instagram Followers)

Mumbai Indians – 26.8 Million Followers (8 M Followers on X, 18.8 M Instagram Followers)

Kolkata Knight Riders – 12.4 Million Followers (5.1 M Followers on X, 7.3 M Instagram Followers)

Sunrisers Hyderabad – 8.5 Million Followers (3.2 M Followers on X, 5.3 M Instagram Followers)

Rajasthan Royals – 8.2 Million Followers (2.8 M Followers on X, 5.4 M Instagram Followers)

Punjab Kings – 7.5 Million Followers (2.9 M Followers on X, 4.6 M Instagram Followers)

Delhi Capitals – 7.2 Million Followers (2.5 M Followers on X, 4.7 M Instagram Followers)

Gujarat Titans – 5.4 Million Followers (640,900 Followers on X, 4.8 M Instagram Followers)

Lucknow Super Giants – 4.4 Million Followers (816,400 Followers on X, 3.6 M Instagram Followers)

Considering that the Chennai Super Kings have Sanju Samson and MS Dhoni on their squad, the social media numbers are not surprising. However, it is important to recognize that measuring followers on social media does not equal fans…but it’s a start.

Yuzvendra Chahal & His Incredible Chess Accomplishments Prior to Playing Cricket

Not only is Chahal one of the best bowlers to ever play in the IPL, but he is also a championship-winning chess player. In a recent interview, he revealed how he got into chess and how old he was when he started playing.

“My dad used to play chess when he was doing his law,” Chahal revealed on the AB de Villiers 360 podcast. “And my dad teach me. At least I stay at home and not go out and be in bad company.”

Chahal went on to describe his accomplishments and how young he was when he first started playing competitive chess.

“I played my first national when I was seven,” Chahal said on the March 18th episode. “In 2000 was the first time I got in (the) top 10 positions. In 2002, I became a national champion.”

The championship Chahal won in 2002 was the National Under-12 Chess Championship. In 2003, he represented India at the Youth Chess Championship.

It’s clear that playing chess helped Chahal process cricket in highly stressful situations. And now, Chahal is the highest wicket-taker ever in IPL (221). He is the only bowler to have over 200 wickets (three other bowlers could cross that threshold this season).

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