Royal Challengers Bengaluru enter IPL 2026 as a strong opening title defender following a breakthrough as champions. 2025 marked the first year that the franchise had to get their hands on the IPL trophy after losing for nearly two decades. The statement for the upcoming season is to retain the proven match-winners and make the necessary adjustments to protect the champion’s momentum this time around. With a secure core, stable leadership, and a well-defined strategic direction, RCB has made their ‘retention and release’ strategy ahead of the upcoming mini-auction on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. The franchise has retained 17 players while releasing several major high-cost or underperforming names as they aim to unlock slots and available caps.
This review provides an analysis of RCB retained players 2026, RCB released players 2026, and the franchise’s overall strategy for IPL 2026.
RCB Retained Players 2026: Full List
Stability, experience, and building a young core have been the focus of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. RCB preferred to not tinker too much with the winning mix of players, which helped them win this year’s title. “We’ve always tried to get better. But instead, by keeping the pillars who made a difference last season, they have given their young guns another shot to grow.
The full list of RCB retained players for 2026 is as follows:
Batters & Wicketkeepers
- Virat Kohli
- Rajat Patidar
- Phil Salt
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Jitesh Sharma
All-Rounders
- Tim David
- Krunal Pandya
- Romario Shepherd
- Jacob Bethell
- Swapnil Singh
Bowlers
- Josh Hazlewood
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Yash Dayal
- Rasikh Dar
- Suyash Sharma
- Nuwan Thushara
- Abhinandan Singh
Why RCB Retained These Players
- Virat Kohli has not in anyway been removed as the face of RCB. He’s irreplaceable based on his durability, leadership and versatility to be either a back-anchoring runner or an accelerant.
- The title-winning captain Rajat Patidar remains the fulcrum of RCB’s middle-order and future side planning.
- Phil Salt earned his place at the top with blistering starts, and fine wicketkeeping too.
- Jitesh Sharma is there to add meat in the late order with his fearless shot-making and sound glove-work as well.
- Tim David A reliable T20 finisher still very important in pressure moments.
- Krunal Pandya is a left-arm spinner, has experience and can bat anywhere in the lower order.
- The left-arm allrounder Romario Shepherd brings both hitting power and pace variation – vital in this era of modern T20 structures.
- Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar make for a nice mix of pace, swing and experience.
- Yash Dayal is retained despite an imperfect 2025 season due to his big potential in the future.
- Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma and Abhinandan Singh provide some domestic bowling bench strength to RCB.
- Nuwan Thushara, who has an unusual sling action which keeps the fast-bowling stocks versatile.
With this squad, RCB come into IPL 2026 with the perfect balance of experienced hands, power-hitters and upcoming Indian talents.
RCB Released Players 2026: Full List & Reasons
In their bid to get stronger for the IPL 2026, RCB took some hard decisions by releasing players that either didn’t fit in with their long-term plans or didn’t justify their price tags. Those releases help the franchise clear the purse and fill some voids.
The players officially cut are:
RCB Released Players 2026
- Liam Livingstone (All-rounder)
- Lungi Ngidi (Fast bowler)
- Mayank Agarwal (Batter)
- Tim Seifert (Wicketkeeper-batter)
- Blessing Muzarabani (Fast bowler)
- Manoj Bhandage (All-rounder)
- Mohit Rathee (Spinner)
- Swastik Chikara (Batter)
Why RCB Released These Players
- The biggest name released was Liam Livingstone. While he had been bought as a high price player, the 2025 didn’t see more than a 100 runs from him. RCB required that purse for their more reliable performers.
- Lungi Ngidi wasn’t utilized much. They already had several overseas pacemen in their squad and the latter was deemed an excess to requirement.
- Mayank Agarwal, brought in as a stopgap, and not part of the core planning for 2026.
- Tim Seifert proved to be surplus with the presence of Salt and Jitesh who had already kept wickets in the league stage.
- Muzarabani and Ngidi were let go to level the foreign-pace-par quick quota.
- Any Indian releases like Manoj Bhandage, Mohit Rathee and Swastik Chikara were exercises done to rejuvenate the domestic talent and add some breathing space in terms of squad.
RCB’s Auction Strategy for IPL 2026
These winding-up releases would leave RCB with ₹16.40 crore in their purse and eight vacancies to fill, including two overseas slots entering the mini-auction.
As RCB head into the mini-auction of Abu Dhabi for the 2026 edition, it is a plan that remains measured and calculated, catering more to bolstering key areas rather than disrupting a fairytale chemistry. The management’s approach revolves around:
Strengthening the Middle Order
Despite having strong hitters in Tim David and Krunal Pandya, RCB need another such middle-order batter who can soak up pressure and rotate the strike in difficult conditions.
Adding a Strike Bowler
Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar provide control, but the franchise seeks another impact pacer that can have an effect in both powerplay and death overs.
Boosting Indian Talent
Young Indian bowlers are finishers still in demand, as RCB seek to lessen their dependence on names from overseas.
Value-Based Overseas Signings
Rather than marquee names, RCB will look for role-specific overseas players, primarily a middle-order stabiliser and a utility all-rounder.
In general, RCB’s strategy mixes continuity with judicious upgrades that will help ensure the defending champions are in a position to stay ahead of the rest.
Final Thoughts
RCB possessed a good top order and made some smart retention and interesting player releases to build the base for IPL 2026. The RCB retained players 2026 also has game-changers such as Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt, Josh Hazlewood, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, among others, in the ranks. On the other hand, RCB released players 2026 list is the result of strategic moves with regard to finance management and attaining squad stability.
With eight slots to fill and only a purse of ₹16.40 crore, the mini-auction is going to be paramount. Not only will RCB already boast one of the best teams for 2026, but with strategic purchases filling in gaps, they will be among the favorites to defend their title next season.
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