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IPL 2026

Royal Challengers Bengaluru | RCB 2026 Squad, Players, Stats, and Season History

Feb. 5, 2026

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is a professional T20 franchise based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, competing in the Indian Premier League. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and is owned by United Spirits Limited, a subsidiary of Diageo. Over the years, RCB has grown into one of the most recognizable and commercially strong brands in the league. For much of their history, RCB were known for building star-heavy squads and reaching big stages without securing the trophy. That changed in 2025 when they won their first IPL title under Rajat Patidar, defeating Punjab Kings in the final. Earlier phases included a final appearance in 2009 under Anil Kumble and the well-known era featuring Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle, which produced finals in 2011 and 2016. The franchise officially rebranded from Bangalore to Bengaluru in 2024, marking the start of a new phase that led into their championship run. The organization also operates beyond the men’s IPL team. Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited runs the RCB women’s side in the Women’s Premier League, which won the 2024 title under Smriti Mandhana. The franchise continues to carry strong identity markers such as Virat Kohli’s long-standing association with the team, the passionate “12th Man Army” fan base, and sustainability initiatives like the annual green jersey match. Following the 2025 title win, the brand valuation climbed significantly, reinforcing RCB’s position among the league’s top franchises.

RCB IPL 2026 at a Glance

  • Captain: Rajat Patidar
  • Coach: Andy Flower
  • Key Additions: Venkatesh Iyer, Mangesh Yadav, Jacob Duffy, Jordan Cox
  • Biggest Exit: Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi
  • Auction Intent: Focus on fine tuning the title winning core rather than rebuilding, strengthening middle order balance and pace depth
  • Squad Strength: Stable top order featuring Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, and Rajat Patidar along with a balanced pace attack led by Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar
  • Squad Concern: Spin reliability in middle overs and fitness management of key fast bowlers

Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL 2026 Complete Squad

Batters & Wicketkeeper (RCB 2026)

RCB’s batting group blends stability at the top with finishing power in the middle order. The presence of multiple wicketkeeper options gives flexibility in team combinations, while experienced anchors and aggressive hitters ensure coverage across all phases of a T20 innings.
Player Batting Style Age
Rajat Patidar (C) Right hand bat 32
Jordan Cox Right hand bat 25
Tim David Right hand bat 29
Virat Kohli Right hand bat 37
Devdutt Padikkal Left hand bat 25
Phil Salt Right hand bat 29
Jitesh Sharma Right hand bat 32

All rounders (RCB 2026)

RCB’s all rounders provide batting depth, pace coverage, and spin match up options. This group allows flexible team construction depending on pitch conditions while also supporting both middle order scoring and secondary bowling workloads.
Player Batting Style Bowling Style Age
Jacob Bethell Left hand bat Slow left arm orthodox 22
Kanishk Chouhan Right hand bat Offbreak 19
Venkatesh Iyer Left hand bat Medium 30
Vihaan Malhotra Left hand bat Offbreak 18
Mangesh Yadav Left hand bat Left arm fast 23
Krunal Pandya Left hand bat Slow left arm orthodox 34
Romario Shepherd Right hand bat Fast medium 30

Bowlers (RCB 2026)

RCB’s bowling attack combines experienced international pacers with emerging domestic options and multiple spin variations. The structure covers powerplay swing, middle overs spin control, and death overs pace execution, giving the side full phase coverage.
Player Bowling Style Age
Abhinandan Singh Right arm medium fast 28
Satvik Deswal Slow left arm orthodox 18
Jacob Duffy Right arm fast medium 31
Josh Hazlewood Right arm fast medium 34
Bhuvneshwar Kumar Right arm medium 35
Vicky Ostwal Slow left arm orthodox 23
Rasikh Salam Right arm medium 25
Suyash Sharma Legbreak googly 22
Swapnil Singh Slow left arm orthodox 34
Nuwan Thushara Right arm medium fast 31
Yash Dayal Left arm medium fast 27

IPL 2026 Trade / Transfer Summary (RCB)

The franchise retained its core group and used releases to create budget flexibility, targeting specific squad gaps through auction additions rather than restructuring the team through trades.
  • Players Traded In: None
  • Players Traded Out: None
  • Released Players: Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi, Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Bhandage, Swastik Chikara, Mohit Rathee, Blessing Muzarabani, Sachin Baby
They aim to preserve the championship core while freeing purse space to strengthen middle-order balance and bowling depth through targeted auction signings.

RCB IPL 2026 Team Analysis

Batters & Wicketkeepers (RCB 2026)

RCB’s batting unit combines long-term anchors, explosive powerplay hitters, and high-impact finishers. The group provides strong phase coverage from overs 1 through 20, with multiple wicketkeeping options enabling flexible lineup construction.
Player Stats Type Matches Runs Average Strike Rate 50s 100s
Rajat Patidar IPL 42 1111 30.86 154.30 9 1
Jordan Cox Vitality Blast 75 1727 35.24 148.49 7 1
Tim David IPL 50 846 32.53 173.36 1 0
Virat Kohli IPL 267 8661 39.54 132.85 63 8
Devdutt Padikkal IPL 74 1806 25.43 126.29 11 1
Phil Salt IPL 34 1056 34.06 175.70 10 0
Jitesh Sharma IPL 55 991 25.41 157.05 1 0
  • Rajat Patidar anchors the top order and leadership group Led RCB to the 2025 title and scored 312 runs that season. His domestic form stayed elite with a 122.6 Duleep Trophy average, keeping him central to batting stability.
  • Virat Kohli remains the consistency engine IPL all-time leader with 8,661 runs. In 2025 he added 657 runs at 54.75 average, continuing as a reliable opening presence.
  • Phil Salt provides fast powerplay starts A key part of the title run, operating at an IPL strike rate of 175.71, setting early momentum at Chinnaswamy.
  • Tim David handles finishing duties Delivered 184 runs in 10 matches in 2025 at a 197.84 strike rate, specializing in death-overs acceleration.
  • Jitesh Sharma strengthens middle-order firepower Scored 261 runs at 176.35 strike rate, including 85 off 33 vs LSG, showing reliability under pressure.
  • Devdutt Padikkal adds balance at No.3 Made 247 runs in 10 matches before injury. Fit again and expected to provide left-hand stability.
  • Jordan Cox offers flexible depth New addition with a career T20 strike rate of 141.41, covering backup wicketkeeping and batting rotation.

All-rounders (RCB 2026)

RCB’s all-round group mixes proven IPL experience with developmental upside. Senior players provide balance across batting depth and middle-overs control, while younger additions give tactical flexibility and bench strength. The composition allows match-up adjustments depending on conditions and workload management.

Batting Contribution Table

Player Stats Type Mat Runs Avg SR
Jacob Bethell IPL 2 67 33.50 171.79
Venkatesh Iyer IPL 62 1468 29.95 137.32
Mangesh Yadav T20 2 28 28.00 233.33
Krunal Pandya IPL 142 1756 22.22 132.42
Romario Shepherd IPL 18 185 26.42 212.64

Bowling Contribution Table

Player Stats Type Inns Wkts Avg Econ
Jacob Bethell Vitality Blast 15 7 30.57 8.33
Venkatesh Iyer IPL 9 3 47.66 10.59
Mangesh Yadav T20 2 3 28.33 12.14
Krunal Pandya IPL 132 93 32.09 7.46
Romario Shepherd IPL 15 10 40.80 11.65
  • Kanishk Chouhan and Vihaan Malhotra have not yet played senior T20 cricket, so they are excluded from the statistical tables.
  • Both have participated at Youth ODI level, where they’ve shown all-round potential and are viewed as long-term prospects rather than immediate tactical contributors.
  • Iyer adds flexibility across batting positions Over 1,400 IPL runs make him a plug-and-play option from top to middle order while contributing occasional seam overs.
  • Krunal anchors spin balance With 93 IPL wickets and economy under 7.5, he remains the most dependable control bowler in the all-round group.
  • Shepherd provides power finishing and seam depth IPL strike rate above 200 and utility overs give tactical value in high-scoring Chinnaswamy conditions.
  • Bethell offers explosive upside Early IPL showing (SR 171.79) plus overseas league spin utility makes him a matchup-based rotation option.
  • Mangesh adds left-arm pace depth Small sample but wicket-taking ability positions him as backup seam insurance.

Bowlers

RCB’s bowling unit leans heavily toward pace strength with experienced IPL performers supported by rotational overseas depth and a layered spin bench. The structure is built to manage Chinnaswamy conditions where variation and control matter as much as raw pace.

Bowling Contribution Table

Player Stats Type Mat Inns Wkts Avg Econ SR
Jacob Duffy Vitality Blast 8 8 10 23.20 8.28 16.8
Josh Hazlewood IPL 39 39 57 20.98 8.27 15.2
Bhuvneshwar Kumar IPL 190 190 198 27.33 7.69 21.3
Vicky Ostwal T20 15 15 14 25.71 6.46 23.8
Rasikh Salam IPL 13 13 10 40.90 10.62 23.1
Suyash Sharma IPL 27 27 18 45.22 8.75 31.0
Swapnil Singh IPL 14 14 7 34.42 8.92 23.1
Nuwan Thushara IPL 8 8 9 31.44 9.43 20.0
Yash Dayal IPL 43 43 41 33.90 9.57 21.2
  • Pace-led structure: RCB’s bowling core for IPL 2026 is built around experienced seamers, with Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Yash Dayal covering powerplay and death phases.
  • Strike leadership: Josh Hazlewood remains the main wicket-taking threat across phases, supported by Bhuvneshwar’s new-ball swing control and Dayal’s left-arm variation.
  • Tactical rotation option: Nuwan Thushara provides matchup flexibility with his slingy action and can be rotated based on conditions.
  • Overseas depth: Jacob Duffy strengthens backup pace options and offers a high-quality replacement if overseas rotation is needed.
  • Domestic seam bench: Rasikh Salam adds support depth for death or middle overs when rotation or injuries occur.
  • Spin coverage approach: Suyash Sharma leads wrist-spin duties, while Swapnil Singh and Vicky Ostwal provide containment rather than attacking wicket bursts.
  • Developmental prospects: Abhinandan Singh and Satvik Deswal are not included in statistical tables due to no senior IPL/domestic T20 records; both remain long-term depth investments.
The unit prioritizes pace reliability and rotational depth, while spin remains the only area without an established match-dominating presence.

IPL 2026 Stats and Data for Your Website or App

All the IPL 2026 data shown on this blog can be used directly on your own platform whether it’s a website, app, or internal tool using Cricket API. So instead of just reading these stats, you can actually build with them.

How do you use this data?

You integrate the APIs once, and then use the data however your product needs.

If you are a developer

You can use our APIs to build:
  • Fantasy apps
  • Live score widgets
  • Dashboards and simulators
We already provide ball by ball data, player stats, team stats, points tables, and match data. You focus on features and UI. We handle the data layer.

If you are doing marketing around IPL 2026

You can use live match data to run prediction and gamification campaigns. For example (like our past clients): “If Virat Kohli hits a six, you get 20% off.” “If India wins the next match, cashback on your order.” This kind of real time gamification has been used by brands like Zomato, Zepto, and FiMoney to drive millions of interactions during live matches.

If you are a media or stats website

You can display all IPL data in your own format:
  • Points tables
  • Player and team stats
  • Head to head comparisons
  • Match previews and reports
Instead of maintaining everything manually, your pages stay updated automatically using live data. Same data as this blog. Just delivered through APIs so you can turn it into products, campaigns, and traffic. 👉🏻You can explore the Indian Premier League 2026 data and API here

Frequently Asked Questions: RCB IPL 2026

1. Who is the captain of RCB for IPL 2026? Rajat Patidar continues as captain after leading RCB to their first IPL title in 2025. 2. Is Virat Kohli playing for RCB in 2026? Yes. Kohli remains with RCB after a ₹21 crore retention and continues as a core batter. 3. Why isn’t RCB playing at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2026? The Karnataka government allowed the stadium to host matches again in January 2026, but RCB’s return is still not fully confirmed because some safety rules are still being checked. The team has proposed upgrades like installing AI-based crowd monitoring cameras to meet the requirements. Until final approval is completed, RCB has planned backup venues at DY Patil Stadium (Navi Mumbai) and Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium (Raipur). 4. Where are RCB’s home matches in 2026? RCB are expected to play at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, after receiving conditional government clearance on 17 Jan 2026. The franchise is proposing 300–350 AI cameras (₹4.5 crore) to meet safety rules. If final checks fail, backup venues are ready at DY Patil Stadium (Navi Mumbai) and Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium (Raipur). 5. Who was RCB’s biggest buy in the 2026 auction? Venkatesh Iyer for ₹7 crore to strengthen the middle order. 6. Did RCB win IPL 2025? Yes. They won their maiden title, beating Punjab Kings by 6 runs. 7. Who is the head coach for 2026? Andy Flower leads the men’s team; Malolan Rangarajan coaches the WPL side. 8. Is the franchise being sold in 2026? United Spirits has initiated a strategic review with potential sale discussions ongoing. 9. Who are key new squad additions? Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Mangesh Yadav, and Jordan Cox. 10. What is the expected Playing XI? Kohli, Salt, Patidar, David, Iyer, Jitesh, Shepherd, Krunal, Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar, Dayal (Impact: Suyash Sharma).
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