RCB vs DC IPL 2026 Match No. 26: Delhi Capitals will look to make a few changes to snap the run of losses as they face Royal Challengers Bengaluru at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Updated: April 18, 2026 8:51 AM IST
RCB vs DC IPL 2026: Virat Kohli is celebrating the 18th anniversary of his debut match with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru as he gets ready for IPL 2026 clash against Delhi Capitals at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. But after 19 seasons in the IPL, Kohli was seen in an unfamiliar role of ‘Impact Player’ in the last game against Lucknow Super Giants at home.
Kohli has been struggling with an ankle injury which he suffered a couple of games back against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. Rajat Patidar’s RCB are unlikely to compromise with the former skipper’s fitness and go ahead with playing him as an ‘Impact Player’ as the opener against the Delhi Capitals once again.
“He’ll definitely play, it’s just about how much he can contribute in the field. He brings great energy and is one of our best fielders, so we’d love to have him fully out there. Knowing him, he’s not one to sit back, he always wants to be involved and make an impact,” RCB and Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood said about Kohli in the pre-match press conference in Bengaluru on Friday.
But while Hazlewood has made a successful comeback from injury, his Australian teammate Mitchell Starc is yet to make an appearance in the IPL 2026 season for the Delhi Capitals. Starc, who was retained for Rs 11.75 crore ahead of IPL 2026 season, is unlikely to be available for DC once again.
“It’s been really pleasing to be back and contributing again. You learn a lot from time away due to injury, especially about respecting the recovery process, and the focus was on coming back fully ready and performing at this level,” Hazlewood said about his return from injury.
Axar Patel’s DC are also likely to pick Ashutosh Sharma ahead of Nitish Rana to bolster their batting down the order and give them more finishing power. The other dilemma that DC would be facing whether to pick leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam ahead of pacer Auqib Nabi.
“Before the last season also, I had expressed my desire to get Virat Kohli’s wicket, and it happened in the very next game. It was a dream come true. I went to meet Virat bhai after the match and asked him what else I could add to my bowling and to my all-round game, because we all know how the game is changing every year, how batting has gone to a different level in T20 cricket, and how the wickets are. He just said there was no need to change anything skill-wise, just keep learning new things and find ways to add those to my batting as well as bowling and keep getting better,” Nigam said about claiming Kohli’s wicket in the IPL 2025 season.
Started here, in Red and Gold, just a young dreamer with fire in his eyes.
Years passed, the stage grew, but one thing never changed – his hunger.
Today, he doesn’t just wear the badge… he defines it. #OnThisDay in 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣8️⃣, the King made his debut in our threads,… pic.twitter.com/a1OZNsblpz
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) April 18, 2026
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma
Delhi Capitals: Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Rana/Ashutosh Sharma, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (c), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Vipraj Nigam/Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar
