{"id":554303,"date":"2026-03-21T05:31:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T05:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/554303\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T05:31:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T05:31:18","slug":"rcbs-strongest-xi-for-ipl-2026-kohli-to-open-padikkal-vs-iyer-in-focus-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/554303\/","title":{"rendered":"RCB’s strongest XI for IPL 2026: Kohli to open, Padikkal vs Iyer in focus | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RCB's Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have retained a strong core of 17 players and made targeted additions in the IPL 2026 mini-auction in Abu Dhabi. For the first time in their history, RCB will enter an IPL season as defending champions.Here\u2019s a look at RCB\u2019s predicted Playing XI and Impact Player for IPL 2026:Virat Kohli: The veteran batter will continue in his opening role for RCB, riding on his red-hot IPL form. Having already crossed the 9000-run milestone, Kohli remains crucial in providing aggressive starts during the powerplay. <\/p>\n

Watch<\/p>\n

IPL 2026 should be audition for the next India T20I captain Phil Salt: Phil Salt was a key figure in RCB\u2019s title-winning campaign last season, consistently giving the team explosive starts. However, he could face competition from Jacob Bethell, who impressed in the T20 World Cup, including a century against India at Wankhede.Devdutt Padikkal: Devdutt Padikkal is expected to play a pivotal role at No. 3, acting as the bridge between the explosive opening pair and the middle order. While he is likely to be the first-choice option, he will face competition from Venkatesh Iyer<\/a>, who was bought for Rs 7 crore in the auction.Rajat Patidar (C): Rajat Patidar will continue as captain after leading RCB to their historic maiden IPL title. Alongside his leadership, his impact as a powerful middle-order batter will remain vital for the team.Jitesh Sharma (WK): One of RCB\u2019s unsung heroes, Jitesh Sharma played crucial knocks last season, including a standout innings against LSG. He will continue as wicketkeeper and finisher, supporting Tim David and Romario Shepherd<\/a> in the death overs.Tim David: Tim David will serve as RCB\u2019s primary finisher and lower middle-order power-hitter. With a strike rate hovering around 170-180 in the death overs, he brings stability and firepower to the team\u2019s finishing efforts.Romario Shepherd: Romario Shepherd\u2019s all-round abilities make him a key asset. He delivered crucial performances in the playoffs last season with both bat and ball and is expected to provide balance once again.Krunal Pandya: All-rounder Krunal Pandya, who played a key role in the IPL 2025 final taking 2 wickets for just 17 runs in 4 overs. He offers perfect balance with both bat and ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar: The \u201cswing king\u201d will lead RCB\u2019s pace attack, especially in the absence of Josh Hazlewood<\/a> at the start of the tournament. His powerplay bowling will be vital.Yash Dayal: Yash Dayal has been a reliable all-phase bowler for RCB in recent seasons. His role across powerplay, middle, and death overs will be important, although concerns remain as he hasn\u2019t played competitive cricket since IPL 2025 due to legal issues.Jacob Duffy: Jacob Duffy is expected to fill the void left by Josh Hazlewood in the early stages of the tournament. His performances with the new ball will be crucial for RCB\u2019s bowling unit.Impact Player: Suyash SharmaSuyash Sharma made a strong impact last season with his wicket-taking ability. His mystery spin makes him a leading candidate for the Impact Player role once again.<\/p>\n

Royal Challenger Bengaluru (RCB) predicted playing XI for IPL 2026<\/p>\n

Virat Kohli Phil SaltDevdutt PadikkalRajat Patidar (C)Jitesh Sharma (WK)Tim DavidRomario Shephard Krunal PandyaBhuvneshwar KumarYash DayalJacob DuffySuyash Sharma (Impact Player)\"Banner<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have retained a strong core of 17 players and made targeted additions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554304,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,273901,44227,273902,273903,273899,22479,72835,85,31780,273900],"class_list":["post-554303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-devdutt-padikkal-rcb","tag-josh-hazlewood","tag-rajat-patidar","tag-rajat-patidar-captain-rcb","tag-rcb-strongest-xi-ipl-2026","tag-romario-shepherd","tag-royal-challengers-bengaluru","tag-sports","tag-venkatesh-iyer","tag-virat-kohli-ipl-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}