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PBKS vs RCB, IPL 2026: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have suffered a massive jolt ahead of their IPL 2026 game against the Punjab Kings at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) in Dharamshala on May 17, Sunday as Rajat Patidar remains sidelined. While Virat Kohli has massive captaincy experience in IPL, the Royal Challengers have chosen keeper-batter Jitesh Sharma to lead as he marks his debut as a captain in the tournament history.
PBKS vs RCB, IPL 2026: Why is Rajat Patidar not playing against the Punjab Kings in Dharamshala?
The nature of Patidar’s injury is not specific as Jitesh Sharma didn’t reveal at the toss. The right-handed batter has done an outstanding job since succeeding Faf du Plessis as the skipper ahead of the 2025 edition. Patidar’s maiden season as captain saw him break the trophy drought for the Royal Challengers. He has also been outstanding with the bat in this season, clattering 337 runs in his 12 matches at 33.70 alongside maintaining a strike rate of 192.70. Hence, Patidar’s absence from the line-up might impact RCB, especially the veteran’s expertise against spin.
Nevertheless, he is likely to return for the playoffs fixtures.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
PBKS vs RCB, IPL 2026: What happened the last time the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings face one another?
It is the first time since the Royal Challengers and Punjab Kings face one another in the IPL 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. On that occasion, RCB outplayed Punjab Kings, beating them by six runs to lift the trophy. As far as the toss in Dharamshala goes, Shreyas Iyer has won the toss and opted to bowl first. Should the reigning champions win the contest, they will officially qualify for the playoffs, becoming the first team to do so.
As for the Punjab Kings, their campaign has gone downhill after winning six games out of their first seven as that has followed with five consecutive defeats. Hence, they must win on Sunday to keep their playoffs hopes alive.
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