CCL2026: Is THIS team winning season 12 of the star-led cricket tournament?

CCL2026 has just about begun and the second and final leg of group stage matches is set to be held between January 23 and 25 in Coimbatore, but speculation is already rife about which team will walk away with the trophy and Rs 50 lakh prize money this time. After the first leg in Vizag, 2 of the 8 teams, Punjab De Sher and Mumbai Heroes, were knocked out of the tournament, having lost 2 of their 3 group stage matches. Punjab De Sher, interestingly, were the defending champions.

This time around, Celebrity Cricket League has been cut short by a week and is doing a 3-match decider for the top 4 that will proceed to the semis. 4 of the 8 teams have played 2 matches each already, with the Bengal Tigers having won both, while Akhil Akkineni’s Telugu Warriors lost one and won the other. That leaves the Karnataka Bulldozers, Bhojpuri Dabanggs and Kerala Strikers with one win each, while the Vels Chennai Kings lost their opening tie.

Is 2026 the year of the Kerala Strikers at the Celebrity Cricket League?

The field is still wide open for the 6 remaining teams, but what’s notable is that all but 2 have been champs before. In fact, in the first 8 of the 10 editions of the tournament, the trophy rotated in south India, with the Warriors taking it home 4 times, while Bulldozers and the Kings (formerly Rhinos) won twice each. Breaking this trend was the 2024 win of the Bengal Tigers, a year in which CCL organizer Vishnu Induri had said that it was his favourite team to win. Then, in 2025 came the Punjab side out of the blue. That leaves the Dabanggs and the Strikers – two teams that have come tantalisingly close, but could not get past the finish line.

Also read: CCL2026: Madan Mohan crafts first win for Kerala Strikers; knock out Mumbai Heroes from tournament 

The OTTplay prediction is that the winner this time will be a first-time champ and the odds are heavily in favour of the Strikers. This sentiment is echoed on social media too. The Unni Mukundan-led side had missed out on the tournament last year, which, according to sources was because of a lack of funding. This year, not only are they back in the thick of action, but have spent considerable time and effort in preparing for the tournament, playing as many as 15 corporate tournaments in the run-up to CCL2026.

In fact, at the team press meet following their win over Mumbai, Unni spoke about how the team was often ridiculed for not being able to get to a championship and choking when it most mattered. He said that a win would solve all of this and added that he’s got a highly competitive side playing the tournament this time. One of their lead batsmen, Madan Mohan is said to have had first-class cricket experience, which had been called out in earlier editions of the league, but seems to no longer be an issue. Punjab’s Harrdy Sandhu was also a cricketer earlier, so, Madan’s fine.

CCL FAQs

Q. Where to watch CCL2026?

A. Season 12 of the Celebrity Cricket League began on January 16, 2026 and goes on till February 1. Eight teams are in the fray, with the winner getting a prize of Rs 50L. The matches are being live streamed on JioHotstar (available via OTTplay Premium also).

Q. Who is the skipper of the Kerala Strikers team?

A. For the 2026 season of CCL, Marco fame actor Unni Mukundan is leading the Kerala Strikers.