The RCB management would be thrilled, as two of their match-winning players from the victorious season of 2025 might emerge as the biggest burden for them, owing to different reasons like injury, lack of form, and others.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru picked many new players in their squad after releasing one or two players who didn’t seem to be the best-performing cricketers the last time. Led by Rajat Patidar, they picked players like Venkatesh Iyer, Mangesh Yadav, and many other Indian youngsters.
They won their maiden title in 2025 after a long wait of 18 editions. They will be preparing for their maiden title defence this season and will kickstart their campaign against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at their home ground of M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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3 players who are RCB’s biggest burden in IPL 2026
Venkatesh Iyer
One of the costliest Indian players in the history of the IPL, Venkatesh Iyer, was bought for a whopping price in the mega-auction for IPL 2024. However, after a failed season, the KKR team released him ahead of the mini-auction.
RCB acquired his services as a batter for INR 7 crores. Despite his dip in price, Venky seems to be a weak link in the RCB side. The reason for this is his poor form across any format of the game. Iyer has failed miserably with the bat, even in domestic cricket for his state team.
The batting all-rounder will be seen in a jersey other than that of KKR for the first time. However, his role in the RCB team is to strengthen the middle-order batting in the absence of Liam Livingstone. Not useful with his medium pace, Iyer could be used only as a batter, and if he flops in that department, the Challengers do not have many options to replace him.
Josh Hazlewood
Another lead pacer in the side, Josh Hazlewood, was their best player when he picked the most wickets for the IPL-winning side. Having picked up these many wickets, Hazlewood was their match-winner with the ball.
He has picked wickets in the power play with the new ball and has given RCB the upper hand. On the other hand, Hazlewood has also been remarkably economical in the death overs for the RCB. In his absence, it would be very tough for players to fill his shoes.
The Australian has been out of cricket action since the Ashes series due to several injuries. His return to the IPL has been blocked by these injuries, as he would miss out on the first half of the competition.
Though the Royal Challengers have Jacob Duffy as his backup, it would be a huge burden for RCB, since they can neither release the player, due to his importance, nor can they have his services at the start of the competition.
Phil Salt
Lastly, the English opener Phil Salt, who was one of the highest-scoring cricketers in 2025 for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The opener was their most dynamic batter and often gave them splendid starts within the first six overs.
The explosive batter has not given away his batting style; however, he has been out of touch over the past year. Salt has lacked runs in international as well as franchise-level cricket, and this will be a huge concern for the Royal Challengers going into the upcoming IPL edition.
They also do not have many backup players to replace him in the playing XI. Instead, Virat Kohli could open with the English youngster Jacob Bethell. However, promoting Bethell or Devdutt Padikkal in the batting order will expose the weakness of the middle order to their opponents.
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