Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will head into the next Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) Auction with a more or less settled team, with only a few positions in the squad that still need to be occupied. After confirming their IPL retentions, the remaining purse of RCB is INR 16.40 crore, and it will be interesting to see which players the management will aim at the event on December 16.
Before that, the Bengaluru management invited the J&K pacer Adil Ayub Tunda for a trial, and if he impresses, it could lead to a possible bid at the auction. Another J&K pacer Auqib Nabi was invited for a trial with Mumbai Indians (MI) after his phenomenal performance in domestic cricket, while RCB has marked the lesser-known Tunda. Let’s find out more about the youngster.
Adil Ayub Tunda early strides in cricket
Coming from a place where life is very hard and the lack of facilities, Adil had to fight against the current from the very beginning when he was introduced to the sport by his father, a cricketer himself. Eventually, he went to a local cricket academy and got selected to represent his state in a U19 tournament which he considers his breakthrough moment. After that, he developed his skills and got to play in different domestic tournaments and even went on to work in franchise cricket.
Phenomenal numbers
The 23-year-old right-arm quickly has already taken great strides in his promising if short career so far. Last year was a big year for him as he ended the Puducherry Premier League as the top wicket-taker with 21 wickets in 12 innings at 14.66 and 7 economy. Adil was also in great form this year, taking 14 wickets in 11 matches, which gained the sixth position among the top wicket-takers in the tournament.
He had previously played in five matches, getting two wickets, last year when he made his T20 debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) for J&K.
Why is Adil Ayub Tunda so desirable that he is considered a good investment at the IPL 2026 auction?
True, the J&K pacer’s statistics reveal his ability. Besides, the length of 6ft5inch for this bowler he can hit hard lengths and get very high bounce off the surface which is a great help for seamers to get the peak in the subcontinent. Moreover, he can bowl with both the new ball and at the death and is a master of yorkers, a godsend for a fast bowler in a very competitive league like IPL.
Also, RCB has already invited him for trials, Tunda character may just be on the radar of other IPL franchises as a viable candidate at the IPL 2026 Auction. Teams like Rajasthan Royals (RR), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Delhi Capitals (DC) have been struggling with their Indian pace attack and would love to add a promising youngster who possesses a lot of skills. If RCB picks him he will be a part of the pool of promising young Indian pacers like Abhinandan Singh, Rasikh Salam Dar, and Yash Dayal.