IPL 2026: Venkatesh Iyer & Devdutt Padikkal snubbed as RCB's playing 11 finalised by Ravi Ashwin

RCB will play SRH in the opening match of the IPL 2026 on March 28 in Bengaluru.

Former India spinner Ravi Ashwin has revealed his choice of the playing XII of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The IPL 2025 winning team will open their campaign against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 28, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

RCB had quite a run in the IPL 2025, where they qualified for the finals after ending the points table at second spot. They defeated the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the summit clash to end their 18-year wait for the IPL title.

They retained their main players ahead of IPL 2026 auction, but bought some players just as backup for their first-choice players. And now, ahead of the IPL 2026 tournament, ex-India spinner Ravi Ashwin has quite a few surprises in his choice of RCB XI.

Ravi Ashwin chooses his RCB playing XII for IPL 2026

Ravi Ashwin, on his YouTube channel, Ash Ki Baat, has strongly supported RCB’s title defence chances, stating that the they have put together a team capable of winning another IPL title in the upcoming seasons.

He also shared his choice of RCB playing XII, including an impact player, and has surprisingly left out RCB’s newest acquisition for INR 7 crores, Venkatesh Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal, who played a massive role in team’s title win last year.

Ravi Ashwin picked Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, and Jacob Bethell as the RCB top order. Bethell will be coming off an excellent T20 World Cup 2026, where he scored a century against India in the semi-final.

“Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, Rajat Patidar, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mangesh Yadav, Yash Dayal, and Suyash Sharma,” R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

For the middle order, Ashwin chose Rajat Patidar, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, and Romario Shepherd. Patidar is the RCB captain and Jitesh the vice-captain, while David and Shepherd formed a deadly big-hitting duo for RCB in IPL 2025..

Krunal Pandya was picked as the first-choice spinner with Suyash Sharma as the impact player to join the spin department.

Coming to the pace department, Josh Hazlewood will miss the first few games of IPL 2026 due to his injury, and hence Ashwin stated that Jacob Bethell, Jacob Duffy, and Mangesh Yadav will fight out for Hazlewood’s spot in the RCB team.

“Now, how will RCB fill Hazlewood’s role? They have got Yash Dayal; if he were not there, it would have been a difficult question to answer. RCB has Jacob Bethell, Jacob Duffy, and Mangesh Yadav; there will be a fight between those three for RCB’s first game,” said Ashwin.

“If RCB feel that they have to get Bethell into the playing XI. If anyone, whether it be Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, or Rajat Patidar, feels that ‘God, this guy needs to play; how can you not play him?’ then if they want to play him, they have the option of Mangesh Yadav,” he added.

RCB has Abhinandan Singh and Rasikh Salam Dar as pace options as well, while Mangesh Yadav is yet to be tested in the IPL.

Ravi Ashwin’s RCB playing XI for IPL 2026

Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mangesh Yadav, Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma (impact player)

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