Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally won their first IPL trophy in 2025. They beat the Punjab Kings on June 3 ending their 18-year wait. Now, RCB wants to defend their title in IPL 2026 badly. The RCB Released Players 2026 list includes some surprising names honestly.
Several players who underperformed will get axed before next season. RCB Released Players For IPL 2026 including both Indian and overseas stars. This move will free up money for the mini-auction shopping.
Big Names in RCB Released Players For IPL 2026
- Liam Livingstone
- Mayank Agarwal
- Lungi Ngidi
- Rasikh Salam Dar
- Swapnil Singh
Liam Livingstone – The English all-rounder cost RCB Rs 8.75 crore shockingly. He flopped completely with just 112 runs in 10 matches. Livingstone averaged a pathetic 16.00 and took only 2 wickets. RCB dropped him mid-season which showed their lack of faith. He came back only when Tim David got injured unfortunately. His ordinary performances don’t justify such a huge price tag anymore.
Mayank Agarwal – RCB signed him as an injury replacement for Devdutt Padikkal. Mayank played just 4 matches and scored 94 runs total. His strike rate of 148.43 looked decent but the sample size was too small. Padikkal will return next season which makes Mayank expendable now. RCB needs that roster spot for someone more useful honestly.
Lungi Ngidi – The South African pacer cost Rs 1 crore base price. He got only 2 matches when Josh Hazlewood was injured. Ngidi grabbed 4 wickets but his economy of 10.12 was terrible. Management clearly didn’t trust him enough to play regularly there.
Rasikh Salam Dar – RCB paid Rs 6 crore for the J&K pacer surprisingly. He played just 2 matches throughout the entire championship season. Too many quality pacers ahead of him in the pecking order.
Swapnil Singh – The spinner didn’t play a single match in IPL 2025. RCB retained him via RTM for Rs 50 lakh before the season. Keeping unused players makes zero sense for defending champions.
Why IPL 2026 RCB Released Players Strategy Makes Sense
The IPL 2026 RCB Released Players move creates auction funds smartly. RCB needs impact players who deliver consistently in pressure situations.
