The defending champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) heading into the 2026 season of the competition, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, entered the auction in Abu Dhabi with only a few expected changes to make. They nearly had a settled eleven from top to bottom, which could again do the job for them if things fall in place.

Last year, Bengaluru got their players in form and in brutal power at the top in the batting department, while their pacers and spinners did the job of picking wickets equally well whenever required. Virat Kohli and Phil Salt’s opening partnership was excellent at the top, while one of the biggest reasons for their success was Josh Hazlewood.

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Hazlewood’s powerplay bowling, along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and then returning with some smart bowling in the death overs, didn’t allow the opponents to run away with the game. The only issue for them was the number three batter, Devdutt Padikkal, who was a bit injury-prone and missed the crucial playoff contests.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

During the previous auction of the IPL 2025, Bengaluru went as high as INR 23.50 crore for Venkatesh Iyer before losing the battle to the Kolkata Knight Riders. This year, they faced the same challenge again and were finally successful in signing the all-rounder for a third of the price in INR 7 crore.

RCB full squad for IPL 2026:

Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Romario Shepherd, Satwik Deswal, Kanish Chouhan, Vihaan Malhotra, Vicky Ostwal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam, Mangesh Yadav, Yash Dayal, Jacob Duffy, Nuwan Thushara, Abhinandan Singh, Suyash Sharma.

Venkatesh’s presence will be crucial in the playing eleven for the Bengaluru side as the southpaw can showcase his skills against the spinners at number three, which will also allow his state team’s captain, Rajat Patidar, play more freely against those sorts of bowlers.

Beyond that, Bengaluru went ahead with New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy, who came in as a cover for Josh Hazlewood, whose recent list of injuries has been a concern for the franchise. He missed the entire Ashes 2025/26 after some impressive performances at the start of the summer against India. He is expected to be present for the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

Mangesh Yadav is their left-arm pacer who can bowl 140+ and be the best replacement of Yash Dayal, who hasn’t played any competitive cricket since the IPL 2025 final.

Bengaluru won’t make many changes in their playing eleven, with Kohli and Phil Salt expected to open the batting, followed by Venkatesh at number three. Patidar will walk at number four with the wicket-keeper batter, Jitesh Sharma, being the number five of the line-up. Tim David will be their number six, along with West Indies’ Romario Shepherd at number seven.

Krunal Pandya was superb with the ball in any phase of the IPL 2025 for RCB and will retain his number eight spot as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood are the two other pacers with Suyash Sharma as the number 11. Yash Dayal can end up being the impact player of the team.

Bengaluru’s future of playing at home- M. Chinnaswamy Stadium- isn’t guaranteed yet. Even though it’s a blow for the fan support, in terms of conditions, it can be a blessing in disguise for the side.

RCB’s strongest playing 11 for IPL 2026 after mini auction

Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk.), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood.

Impact player- Yash Dayal/Mangesh Yadav.