Six teams. Twelve days. One venue. That’s the reality of CCPL Season 3, and it makes every match count from the opening ball.
The Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 teams are the Bilaspur Bulls, Rajnandgaon Panthers, Raipur Rhinos, Bastar Bisons, Surguja Tigers, and Raigarh Lions.
They’ll play 18 matches at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Nava Raipur between June 3 and June 14.
No travel, no acclimatisation gaps — just back-to-back cricket where fitness and squad depth get exposed fast.
What makes this edition different from Season 2 is how stacked the top three look on paper. Bilaspur brings an IPL-active captain. The Panthers are defending champions.
The Rhinos have the most settled top order in the competition. Below them, the remaining franchises are chasing more than just a playoff berth.
Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 Teams
CCPL 2026 At a Glance
Before getting into the team breakdowns, here’s the full tournament context.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Tournament | Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League (Season 3) |
| Dates | June 3–14, 2026 |
| Number of Teams | 6 |
| Total Matches | 18 |
| Venue | Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Nava Raipur |
| Organiser | Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) |
Playing every game at one venue creates an unusual dynamic. By matchday four or five, every captain will know which lengths trouble which batters on that surface. Advantage shifts fast under those conditions.
How the Six Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 Teams Stack Up
Here’s the ranking table for all six franchises entering Season 3. The criteria: captaincy quality, squad balance, recent form, and finishing record under pressure.
| Rank | Team | Captain | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bilaspur Bulls | Shashank Singh | Title Favourite | IPL 2026 active finisher, 2024 finalist edge |
| 2 | Rajnandgaon Panthers | Ajay Jadav Mandal | Defending Champions | Joint Season 2 winners with a balanced unit |
| 3 | Raipur Rhinos | Amandeep Khare | Playoff Lock | India U-19 captain, deep top order |
| 4 | Bastar Bisons | Sourabh Majumdar | Dark Horse | Pace-heavy attack that can flip any morning game |
| 5 | Surguja Tigers | Ashutosh Singh | Outside Bet | Chase specialists who struggle batting first |
| 6 | Raigarh Lions | Rishabh Tiwari | Spoiler Role | Lean batting depth, built to upset not to win |
Full Profiles: Every CCPL 2026 Team and Squad
Here’s a complete breakdown of all six Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 squads — identity, captain, key strength, concern, X-factor, and full player list.
1. Bilaspur Bulls
Captain: Shashank Singh | Wicketkeeper: Harsh Sahu | Identity: Death-overs chase specialists
Shashank Singh isn’t just a name on the teamsheet — he finished IPL 2026 games with Punjab Kings and arrived in Nava Raipur with the kind of in-form, match-hardened finishing that most state-tournament captains simply don’t carry. When a side needs 24 off the last two overs, he’s the man other teams don’t want walking to the crease.
- Key Strength: That death-over experience changes the entire shape of a Bulls innings. The middle order can bat freely knowing there’s a genuine closer behind them.
- Biggest Concern: Top-order consistency remains a question. During the 2024 CCPL final run, the team leaned heavily on Shashank himself. If he gets out early, the innings can stall.
- X-Factor: Mohammad Irfan. His left-arm pace in the powerplay can swing the toss decision entirely. A green pitch in the morning becomes less of a threat when you have someone who can exploit it first.
- Full Squad (20): Shashank Singh (C), Aayush Pandey, Shobhit Sharma, Mohit Raut, Prateek Yadav, Mohammad Irfan, Varun Singh Bhue, Rudra Pratap, Ankit Kumar, Harsh Rathore, Ravi Roshan Singh, Shubham Maurya, Bharat Gondwani, Anurag Mishra, Shahbaz Hussain, Rishabh Sharma, Aditya Shrivastava Jr, Abhijeet Tah, Deepak Singh Baghel, Harsh Sahu (WK)
- Verdict: Title favourites. The 2024 runner-up scar gives this group a sharper edge in knockout moments.
2. Rajnandgaon Panthers
Captain: Ajay Jadav Mandal | Wicketkeeper: Pawan Parnate | Identity: Balanced unit with spin options at every stage
Defending a title at this level isn’t as straightforward as it looks. Opposition sides spend an entire offseason studying your game plans. The Panthers carry that pressure, but they also carry something more valuable — they’ve already won it. That kind of calm is difficult to manufacture.
- Key Strength: Ajay Jadav Mandal can bat anywhere from three to seven, which gives the Panthers real flexibility depending on the chase or target situation. The squad’s spin core suits Nava Raipur’s surface conditions.
- Biggest Concern: Familiarity cuts both ways. Every team in this Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 squad list knows exactly what the Panthers look like under pressure.
- X-Factor: Sumit Ruikar. His middle-overs control doesn’t just save runs — it frees up the powerplay options by giving the captain an extra bowling hand in phases where wickets matter most.
- Full Squad (19): Ajay Jadav Mandal (C), Sanjeet Desai, Ashish Dahariya, Aishwary Marya, Sahil Shariff, Abhyuday Singh, Dev Aditya Singh, Satyam Dubey, Aryan Jaiswal, Sumit Ruikar, Rahul Naik, Jivesh Butte, Shubham Patel, Vikalp Tiwari, Gaurav Mishra, Ayush Sinha, Shivam Singh, B Balaji, Pawan Parnate (WK)
- Verdict: Genuine title contenders. If the middle-overs spin holds across the group stage, expect the Panthers in the top two.
3. Raipur Rhinos
Captain: Amandeep Khare | Wicketkeeper: Daksh Kumar Parakh | Identity: Top-order anchors who pace chases well
Amandeep Khare has captained at India U-19 level and led the Chhattisgarh senior side. That pedigree shows in how the Rhinos handle pressure overs — they don’t panic, they pace. In a single-venue tournament where conditions are consistent, that calm approach pays off game after game.
- Key Strength: The top three are the most settled batting unit in the CCPL 2026 team list. They don’t give away wickets cheaply and they build totals rather than gambling for them.
- Biggest Concern: That reliance on the top order works until it doesn’t. If the first three fall cheaply on a tough surface, the innings can unravel quickly.
- X-Factor: Daksh Kumar Parakh. His glovework is sharp, but his real value is flexibility — the Rhinos can slot him up or down the order depending on the match situation without breaking the batting structure.
- Full Squad (20): Amandeep Khare (C), Anuj Tiwari, Harsh Sharma, Shreyam Sundram Kamal, Sahban Khan, Vaibhav Sahu, Mayank Yadav Jr, Ashish Chouhan, Prashant Painkra, Sudhanshu Verma, Lavin Coster, Amit Kumar Yadav, Kritesh Sahu, Arin Dwivedi, Prabhash Shukla, Gaurav Chaturvedi, Mohammad Sohail, Krishna Taunk, Tejasvi Kalb, Daksh Kumar Parakh (WK)
- Verdict: Solid playoff lock. The Rhinos rarely collapse in chase situations and they’re hard to dislodge on a good surface.
4. Bastar Bisons
Captain: Sourabh Majumdar | Wicketkeeper: Shashank Chandrakar | Identity: New-ball aggression first, everything else second
The Bisons don’t build into games. They try to break them open in the first six overs, which makes them one of the most entertaining — and unpredictable — teams in the Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 all squads lineup. Sourabh Majumdar leads the pace attack himself rather than protecting his own spell for later.
- Key Strength: That front-foot aggression creates early wickets. When a team loses two or three in the powerplay, the target pressure changes completely.
- Biggest Concern: On flat surfaces with evening dew, the same aggressive lines leak boundaries. If the new ball doesn’t move, the Bisons can find themselves defending 140.
- X-Factor: Suryakant Tiwari. His ability to bowl long spells through the middle keeps the Bisons competitive after the powerplay phase is over. Without him, the bowling card gets thin fast.
- Full Squad (19): Sourabh Majumdar (C), Rahul Pradhan, Sangeet Soni, Rishi Sharma, Karthik Naidu, Abdul Anas Khan, Shashank Tiwari, Tejas Morey, Naman Dhruw, Utkarsh Tiwari, Suryakant Tiwari, Avnish Dhaliwal, Vijay Yadav, Manraj Singh Dhillon, Ambrish Kumar Singh, Ayan Upadhay, Chinmay Vishwakarma, Shivam Yadav, Shashank Chandrakar (WK)
- Verdict: Dangerous dark horse. Any morning game with a hint of green in the surface becomes a potential upset opportunity.
5. Surguja Tigers
Captain: Ashutosh Singh | Wicketkeeper: Abhishek | Identity: Systematic chasers who struggle to post big totals
The Tigers have a clear template — chase well, keep partnerships, let the equation manage itself. At Nava Raipur in night matches, that approach works. The problem is CCPL 2026 won’t always give them the option to bat second.
- Key Strength: Partnership building is a real skill in T20 cricket, and the Tigers do it better than most teams in this tournament. They rarely throw away wickets in clusters.
- Biggest Concern: Batting first and posting 175-plus is a gap in the profile. If the toss goes against them on a good surface, they’ve lost their biggest weapon before a ball is bowled.
- X-Factor: Janendra Sidar. His back-five hitting decides whether the Tigers reach 160 or 145 batting first. That 15-run difference is often the margin between defending and chasing.
- Full Squad (19): Ashutosh Singh (C), Gagandeep Singh, Sanidhya Hurkat, Pratham Jachak, Anand Rao, Harsh Yadav, Shubham Singh, Dhananjay Nayak, Snehil Chadda, Amitesh Pandey, Shashwat Sharda, R Krish Chopra, Janendra Sidar, Upendra Kumar Yadav, Vashudev Bareth, Diwakar Tamrakar, Vivek Yadav Jr, Rohan Taank, Abhishek (WK)
- Verdict: Realistic playoff outside bet. Win the first two games and the Tigers become a serious qualification problem for the top three.
6. Raigarh Lions
Captain: Rishabh Tiwari | Wicketkeeper: Alok Sahu | Identity: Tight bowling lines and intense ground fielding
The Lions don’t play to win the title. They play to upset someone’s playoff run, and that’s a genuine function in a six-team group stage. Their batting is their exposed flank — 15 players in the squad is lean for 18 matches across 12 days.
- Key Strength: Disciplined bowling and sharp fielding can win matches in this format. The Lions keep runs off the board better than their ranking suggests.
- Biggest Concern: The batting depth isn’t there. Over a long tournament, that gets exposed. The Lions will need to punch above their batting weight just to stay competitive in close games.
- X-Factor: Imtiyaj Khan. His left-arm spin in the middle overs is the one match-changing weapon Rishabh has. When Imtiyaj is on, the Lions choke chasing sides and create pressure that no other Lions bowler can replicate.
- Full Squad (15): Rishabh Tiwari (C), Aditya Shingh, Shubham Agarwal, Anurag Sahu, Kivnoor Singh Chhabra, Aditya Agarwal, Imtiyaj Khan, Jitesh Kumar Verma, Aayush Thakur, Praveen Kumar Yadav, Rohit Netani, Lovyam Rajput, Ashish Pandey, Pawandeep Singh, Alok Sahu (WK)
- Verdict: Spoiler role. The Lions aren’t winning this — but they can absolutely wreck the playoff maths of a top-three side.
Tactical View: What Does the Single-Venue Format Actually Change?
Playing all 18 games at one ground isn’t just a logistics note. It’s a competitive lever.
By the second week, every captain in this CCPL 2026 team list will know which lengths trouble which batters.
The teams with bigger squads and better rotation options — Bilaspur Bulls (20 players) and Raipur Rhinos (20 players) — gain an advantage because they can rest key players without major drops in quality. Raigarh Lions (15 players) don’t have that buffer.
The other tactical reality is dew. Night games at Nava Raipur in June tend to have heavier dew by the 12th over.
Teams that bowl first — like the Bisons who want to use the new ball — get the cleaner end of the deal. Chase-friendly teams like the Tigers benefit directly from dew disrupting spin in the second half.
Imagine a scenario: Bastar Bisons get three wickets in the powerplay, the target is 138. Dew arrives in the ninth over of the chase.
The Bisons’ pace options dry up, spin doesn’t grip, and the side chasing gets the runs with two overs to spare. That sequence will play out at least once in this tournament.
Who Actually Wins CCPL 2026?
Three teams can genuinely take this trophy.
| Team | Title Likelihood | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Bilaspur Bulls | Top Pick | In-form IPL captain plus 2024 finalist experience |
| Rajnandgaon Panthers | Strong Backup | Defending champion composure and squad balance |
| Raipur Rhinos | Outside Pick | Deep top order, experienced leadership under pressure |
| Bastar Bisons | Dark Horse | Pace attack that wins games on the right surface |
| Surguja Tigers | Long Shot | Chase-only identity limits consistency |
| Raigarh Lions | Spoiler Only | Thin batting depth across a 12-day schedule |
The call here is Bilaspur Bulls. Shashank Singh in active IPL form is the biggest individual quality gap in this tournament.
The 2024 final scar means the squad knows what it feels like to finish second — and that tends to drive squads harder in the following season.
That said, T20 cricket remains wonderfully indifferent to pre-tournament logic.
One collapse, one dropped catch in the last over, one dew-soaked surface — and every prediction gets rewritten.
FAQ: Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 Teams
Q1. How many teams are in the Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026?
Six teams — Bilaspur Bulls, Rajnandgaon Panthers, Raipur Rhinos, Bastar Bisons, Surguja Tigers, and Raigarh Lions.
Q2. Where are the CCPL 2026 matches being played?
All 18 matches take place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Nava Raipur.
Q3. Which team won CCPL Season 2?
Rajnandgaon Panthers were joint Season 2 winners and enter Season 3 as defending champions.
Q4. Who is the most high-profile captain in the CCPL 2026 team list?
Shashank Singh of Bilaspur Bulls carries the highest-profile captaincy. He’s been active in IPL 2026 with Punjab Kings.
Q5. Which team has the smallest squad in CCPL 2026?
Raigarh Lions have the smallest squad with 15 players, compared to the Bulls and Rhinos who carry 20.
Final Word
The Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League 2026 team list has something for every kind of cricket fan — a title-hungry favourite, a cool defending champion, a dark horse with a genuine pace threat, and two teams who’ll decide whether the playoff picture goes to script or chaos.
Season 3 runs through June 14. By June 10, you’ll know whether this belongs to the Bulls or whether someone’s upset the forecast entirely.
Either way, backing your team early and following every group stage game is the only way to really feel this tournament.
