Defending champions **Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)** and **Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)** are facing big challenges in choosing their teams ahead of the first match of the IPL 2026 season to be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28.
RCB will not have three important fast bowlers. Australia’s Josh Hazlewood has reached Bengaluru, but due to fitness concerns he will not be available for the first match. Left-arm fast bowler **Yash Dayal** has been ruled out for the entire season due to personal reasons. Sri Lankan fast bowler **Nuwan Thushara**, retained by RCB, has been refused a ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) by Sri Lanka Cricket after failing the mandatory fitness test, due to which he will be unable to play at least the initial matches.
At the same time, SRH will not have captain and main fast bowler **Pat Cummins**. Cummins is recovering from a back injury and is expected to miss the early stages of the tournament. In his absence, wicketkeeper-batsman **Ishan Kishan** has been made the interim captain, while Abhishek Sharma will be the vice-captain. Kishan’s recent domestic captaincy success, including leading Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title in 2025, influenced the decision.
Despite these setbacks, the RCB camp is upbeat. In the viral video, **Virat Kohli** can be seen hitting huge sixes in the nets, while new entrant Jitesh Sharma impressed everyone with his brilliant batting in the practice session. Kohli was also seen giving throw-downs (bowling practice) to his teammate Phil Salt.
RCB will be captained by Rajat Patidar, who aims to defend the 2025 title. The absence of these players has placed additional responsibility on the team’s current bowling attack, which includes overseas options like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jacob Duffy.
This high-profile encounter marks the beginning of IPL 2026. Both teams are reliant on their bench strength and squad depth as this season tests the team management even before the first ball is bowled.
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