2026 Royal Challengers Bengaluru season
| 2026 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, home ground of Royal Challengers Bengaluru | |||
| Head coach | Andy Flower | ||
| Captain | Rajat Patidar | ||
| Ground(s) | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium, Nava Raipur | ||
| |||
| 2026 Indian Premier League Teams |
|---|
| See also |
|
Note: Teams are listed per the playing order. |
The 2026 edition will be the 19th season for the Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru. They will be one of the ten teams that compete in the 2026 Indian Premier League. The team will enter the tournament as the defending champions.[1]
Pre-season
Royal Challengers Bengaluru is a franchise cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, which has been playing in the Indian Premier League since its inaugural season. The team is the joint-fifth most successful in the tournament, having won a title in the previous edition after defeating the Punjab Kings by 6 runs in the final.[2] They are one of the ten teams competing in the 2026 edition from 28 March to 31 May 2026.[3] They are led by Rajat Patidar and coached by Andy Flower.[4] The team will play five of their home matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, with the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium hosting the other two home games.[5]
Player retention and releases
The retentions were announced on 15 November 2025.[6] The team retained a total of 17 players.[7]
| No. | Player | Salary | No. | Player | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Virat Kohli | ₹21 crore (US$2.5 million) | 8 | Tim David | ₹3 crore (US$350,000) |
| 38 | Josh Hazlewood | ₹12.5 crore (US$1.5 million) | 5 | Suyash Sharma | ₹2.6 crore (US$310,000) |
| 28 | Phil Salt | ₹11.5 crore (US$1.4 million) | 2 | Jacob Bethell | ₹2.6 crore (US$310,000) |
| 97 | Rajat Patidar (c) | ₹11 crore (US$1.3 million) | 37 | Devdutt Padikkal | ₹2 crore (US$240,000) |
| 55 | Jitesh Sharma | ₹11.5 crore (US$1.4 million) | 53 | Nuwan Thushara | ₹1.6 crore (US$190,000) |
| 15 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | ₹10.75 crore (US$1.3 million) | 48 | Romario Shepherd | ₹1.5 crore (US$180,000) |
| 42 | Rasikh Salam | ₹6 crore (US$710,000) | 24 | Swapnil Singh | ₹50 lakh (US$59,000) |
| 6 | Krunal Pandya | ₹5.75 crore (US$680,000) | 14 | Abhinandan Singh | ₹30 lakh (US$35,000) |
| 13 | Yash Dayal | ₹5 crore (US$590,000) | N/a | ||
Notes
References
- ^ 2025 Indian Premier League | Points Table at ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 27 June 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "Kohli and RCB are finally IPL champions". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 3 June 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "IPL 2026 to be held between March 28 and May 3". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 23 December 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ "From Hardik Pandya to Shubman Gill to Rajat Patidar, meet the captains for IPL 2026". Gulf News. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ^ "RCB to play five home games at Chinnaswamy Stadium in IPL 2026". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ^ "TATA IPL 2026 Player Retentions Announced". Indian Premier League. 15 November 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
- ^ "RCB retain 17 players from title-winning squad ahead of IPL 2026 Auction". Royal Challengers Bengaluru. 15 November 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ^ "TATA IPL 2026- Retained Players.15.11.25" (PDF). Indian Premier League. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
General references
- "IPL Season Schedule 2026 Part I" (PDF). Indian Premier League Schedule. 19 (1). Board of Control for Cricket in India. 11 March 2026.