Predicted RCB playing XI vs GT, IPL 2026 final: No room for Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer to open with Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be eyeing their second consecutive Indian Premier League title as they take on Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. So far, Rajat Patidar and co. have been the perfect team so far in this season, will all units functioning in perfect sync. When it comes to trying to lay their hands on their 2nd trophy, RCB wouldn’t want to tinker with their winning combination much, and are likely to make bare minimal changes to their playing XI for the marquee clash.

Predicted RCB playing XI vs GT, IPL 2026 final

No room for Phil Salt

Phil Salt last featured for RCB in IPL 2026 on April 18. He returned to England after that to undergo assessment for an injury. While the opener did rejoin the RCB squad a couple of weeks ago, he hasn’t featured in any game. His teammates have also hinted via social media posts that he is still recovering. Therefore, RCB are expected to persist with Venkatesh Iyer as the opener in the IPL 2026 final against GT.

Iyer, who was used an impact player in the middle-order by RCB in majority of the games that he has featured in in the IPL 2026, has done quite well at the top of the order. In the last two games that he has played as an opener, he registered scores of 44 off 19 and 19 runs off 7 balls. In fact, he has outdone Jacob Bethell as well. Overall, in 5 innings that he has batted in this season, he has scored 177 runs at an average of 59.

Therefore it would be wise for RCB to allow Iyer to open with Virat Kohli. The latter has been in phenomenal form as well, having scored 600 runs from 15 matches in IPL 2026. RCB possess the batting depth that they will want to make the most of. Padikkal at number 3, a dominant Patidar at number 4 and a firing Pandya at number 5 is the highlight of RCB’s batting prowess.

While Tim David remains RCB’s go-to man when it comes to finishing games, all eyes will also be on Jitesh Sharma – who has rather underperformed in this season.

Pace-heavy attack on cards

RCB are expected to field a pace-heavy attack, led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After all, the venue has favoured fast-bowlers heavily in IPL 2026 so far. Jacob Duffy, who picked up 3 wickets in the Qualifier 1 against GT, is bound to retain his spot in the playing XI, if the IPL 2026 final is played on a red-soil pitch. Apart from these two, the pace department will comprise of Hazlewood and Rasikh.

If the GT vs RCB, IPL 2026 final is played on a black soil pitch, then Rajat Patidar could be tempted to bring in Romario Shepherd. This will not only boost RCB’s pace attack but could also boost their batting depth. Since spinners have tasted very little success at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad this season, RCB might be content by just having Krunal in the line-up as the lone-spinner. If required, Suyash can be brought in as an impact player.

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