Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended their 18-year wait for glory last season. RCB finally lifted that elusive IPL trophy in 2025. Now the defending champions are planning smart moves for IPL 2026. They want to keep their winning squad mostly intact.
RCB Retained Players 2026 Core Group
- Rajat Patidar
- Virat Kohli
- Phil Salt
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Jitesh Sharma
- Tim David
- Romario Shepherd
- Jacob Bethell
- Krunal Pandya
- Josh Hazlewood
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Nuwan Thushara
- Suyash Sharma
- Swastik Chikara
- Manoj Bhandage
The RCB retained players 2026 list looks pretty strong already. Captain Rajat Patidar will definitely stay with the franchise next season. His leadership brought their first championship trophy ever. Virat Kohli isn’t going anywhere from Bengaluru obviously after all these years.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar remains a key retained player for IPL 2026. Tim David and Phil Salt both bring explosive batting power. Josh Hazlewood provides quality pace bowling from overseas. Jitesh Sharma and Devdutt Padikkal also deserve their spots in the retained category.
These retained players formed the backbone of the title-winning campaign. The management won’t mess with this successful combination much.
Players RCB Might Release Before IPL 2026
Royal Challengers Bengaluru is looking at releasing three players to free up funds. Liam Livingstone will probably leave the squad before the mini-auction. Lungi Ngidi is another overseas player heading towards the exit door. Swapnil Singh might also get released from the defending champions’ roster.
These releases will add nearly INR 10.5 crore to the purse. That gives the franchise decent flexibility for buying new talent.
RCB’s Quiet Approach to IPL 2026 Planning
Royal Challengers Bengaluru has stayed away from big trade rumours so far. Other teams like CSK and Rajasthan Royals are making huge swaps. But they prefers keeping things stable after their championship win.
The franchise spent INR 119.25 crore in the mega auction previously. They have just INR 75 lakhs left in their current budget. The retention and release list goes to IPL officials by November 15.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru wants only minor tweaks to their squad for IPL 2026. Defending champions rarely need major changes after winning titles anyway.
