8 players RCB should eye at IPL 2026 auction ft. Matheesha Pathirana & Venkatesh Iyer

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will look to fill in small gaps at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction. As the reigning champions, RCB have a set team in place. After acing the mega auction, the Challengers don’t need players who’ll feature in the starting XI but need role players who’ll come in as injury replacements or against specific teams or bowlers.

8 players RCB should eye at IPL 2026 auction

They have released Lungi Ngidi and need a replacement for him. There are plenty of options available, from new ball to old ball bowlers. It’ll be up to them which they pick. Matheesha Pathirana might be too costly, so they can go for Reece Topley, Matt Henry, or Gerald Coetzee.

Liam Livingstone has been released. RCB can either buy him back or get others like Moeen Ali, Glenn Maxwell, or Wanindu Hasaranga. With just INR 16.40 crore left, they can’t get someone like Andre Russell. But since they have just 2 overseas slots left, they need to be careful who they pick. They need a backup top-order batter. Getting Venkatesh Iyer might be tough, so they can settle for someone like Prithvi Shaw or Shaik Rasheed.

Among domestic all-rounders, RCB can try to go for Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Atharva Taide, or Mahipal Lomror. They’ll need to get someone for Tim Seifert, but since they don’t have overseas spots, they have to settle for Indian wicketkeepers. Simarjeet Singh and Rahul Chahar will be among the most sought-after Indian bowlers, who aren’t outside of their price range.

RCB squad before IPL 2026 auction

Abhinandan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Jitesh Sharma (wk & vc), Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, Nuwan Thushara, Phil Salt (wk), Rajat Patidar (c), Rasikh Dar, Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal

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