For the first time in history, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will head into an IPL season as defending champions.
The Bengaluru-based franchise won its maiden IPL trophy last year, ending a wait of 18 years as Rajat Patidar marched the team to a podium finish.
RCB had finished second in the points table and then went on to beat Punjab Kings twice in a row, in Qualifier 1 and in the final.
Ahead of the auction, RCB released seven players and retained 17, a sign of a stable unit and confident management. Barring Liam Livingstone, none of the seven released cricketers were first-choice players.
In the IPL 2026 auction, RCB purchased eight players to complete their squad, the most expensive of them being Venkatesh Iyer for INR 7 crore. Also, RCB roped in Jacob Duffy as Josh Hazlewood’s backup.
Coming to the present day, the defending champions RCB will host the IPL 2026’s opening match on March 28 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
RCB look a solid outfit once again, now boosted by the freeing of shackles of never lifting an IPL trophy. However, they will begin the season without their spearhead fast bowler.
RCB vs SRH: Will Josh Hazlewood Play Against SRH?
Josh Hazlewood will miss the initial few games of RCB in IPL 2026 as he continues to recover from Achilles issues. Hazlewood is not available for the tournament opener against SRH and could even miss the entire phase 1 IPL matches. The tall Australian fast bowler is likely to be available to join RCB mid-April.
For their fixture against SRH, RCB will have to brainstorm in order to figure out their four overseas players, while the question of Devdutt Padikkal vs Venkatesh Iyer would also be on the back of the team management’s mind.
Phil Salt is one certain overseas player in the line-up who will open with Virat Kohli, with captain Rajat Patidar slotting in at No. 4. The No. 3 position in RCB’s playing XI will be up for debate as Venkatesh and Padikkal both have strong cases.
Liam Livingstone featured in RCB’s lineup in last year’s final. His spot is all but certain to be taken up by the talented Jacob Bethell, who earlier this month blasted an amazing century in the T20 World Cup semi-final against India. Bethell is likely to keep Tim David on the bench at least for the beginning phase of the competition given the contrasting form of these two.
Jitesh Sharma is the keeper-finisher; Romario Shepherd and Krunal Pandya are the all-rounders and finishers on RCB’s side.
With Hazlewood unavailable, the bowling attack is to be headed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar with Yash Dayal and Jacob Duffy in support. Suyash Sharma is the leg-spinner who is expected to be part of the Impact Player swapping with one of the batsmen, most likely whoever gets the nod between Venkatesh and Padikkal.
RCB vs SRH: RCB Playing XI + Impact Player – Predicted
Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer/Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jacob Bethell, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma (Impact)
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