Full list of players, schedule and full support staff of Virat Kohli’s side, all details HERE

RCB Match Schedule IPL 2026: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will open their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderadab in the opening match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

RCB IPL Schedule 2026: Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru have become the most expensive team ever in the Indian Premier League ahead of the IPL 2026 after being bought by a Aditya Birla-group led consortium on Tuesday night for $1.8 billion or Rs 16,600 crore approximately. Other parties involved in the group are – Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE, a firm of which Viral Patel is the CEO, Bolt Ventures – owned by American investor David Blitzer, and Indian media house Times of India group.

“United Spirits Limited, pursuant to the meeting of its Board of Directors, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements for the sale of the 100 percent equity stake held in its wholly owned subsidiary Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL) to a consortium,” the USL said in a statement.

“The consortium comprises Aditya Birla Group (ABG), The Times of India Group (Times), Bolt Ventures (Bolt), and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE (Blackstone) for a total consideration of INR 166.6 bn in an all cash transaction,” the statement added.

RCB are the defending champions of the IPL, winning the title for first time after 18 years. Kohli’s RCB will open their campaign against Kavya Maran’s Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday (March 28).

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The newly-sold franchise will miss the services of Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood for the first-half of the season as he is yet to join the squad after missing the T20 World Cup 2026 last month due to Achilles Heel injury. RCB will also miss the services of pacer Yash Dayal for the entire as confirmed by their Director of Cricket Mo Bobat on Tuesday.

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Virat throwing it down to Salt…openers looking out for each other already.
It’s these that matter over a long campaign. ❤️‍
Enjoy the full video on… pic.twitter.com/JxZqIi6mgG
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 24, 2026

Here is the full RCB squad for the IPL 2026 season…

Batters: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal

Wicketkeepers: Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Jordan Cox

All-rounders: Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Romario Shepherd, Satwik Deswal, Kanish Chouhan, Vihaan Malhotra, Vicky Ostwal

Spinners: Suyash Sharma

Fast bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam, Mangesh Yadav, Jacob Duffy, Nuwan Thushara, Abhinandan Singh

RCB schedule for IPL 2026 first phase

Opponents	Date	Time	Venue
Sunrisers Hyderabad	28.3.2026	730pm	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Chennai Super Kings	05.04.2026	730pm	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Rajasthan Royals	11.04.2026	730pm	ACA Stadium, Guwahati
Mumbai Indians	20.04.2026	730pm	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

RCB Support Staff for IPL 2026

Head coach: Andy Flower

Batting coach: Dinesh Karthik

Bowling coach: Omkar Salvi

Spin bowling coach: Malolan Rangarajan

Assistant coach: Richard Halsall

Physiotherapist: Evan Speechly

Team doctor: Dr Shikha Dhaundiyal

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The Times Of Bengal