Full List of Players Retained and Released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru
The defending champions have maintained their key line-up for the upcoming IPL season. The team has also named some releases which may shock the fans, as they have let go off a few key players too. One of the shocking releases includes an English all-rounder.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending champions of TATA IPL 2026, could be the most relieved with the retention. The team was able to do well in the previous season, having stars in both batting line-up and bowling line-up. As they secured the first title win in the previous season, the team knew that there might not be much need for the changes.
Due to this reason, the team even posted its fans not to worry about the retention list. And fortunately, they have delivered the same in the retention list. While the team has managed to keep their key players in the line-up, there are a few releases which have shocked the fans. They also wonder what RCB could target in the upcoming auction.
Retained Players
Since Royal Challengers Bengaluru enter the upcoming season as the defending champions, they know the worth of their key players. Due to this reason, the team has ensured that they do not release any of its key performers for the next season. One of the biggest updates is that Virat Kohli is set to play the next season.
The King, who remained RCB’s top run scorer in the last edition will now be back for the team in the next edition. Even after being retired from two formats of the game, fans were worried whether he will be there for the next season or not. Except him, the team has also retained two more batsmen, which includes Rajat Patidar, their captain, and Devdutt Padikkal.
RCB Retained Players List:
- Rajat Patidar (C)
- Virat Kohli
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Phil Salt (Foreign)
- Jitesh Sharma
- Krunal Pandya
- Swapnil Singh
- Tim David (Foreign)
- Romario Shepherd (Foreign)
- Jacob Bethell (Foreign)
- Josh Hazlewood (Foreign)
- Yash Dayal
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Nuwan Thushara (Foreign)
- Rasikh Salam
- Abhinandan Singh
- Suyash Sharma
For Padikkal, it should be noted that he was one of the best for them last season, but missed out on the last few games of the team. Another interesting thing for the RCB fans is that Phil Salt has been retained by the team. This means their opening pair of Phil Salt and Virat Kohli would be ready to dominate again.
And the team surely can't miss out on Jitesh Sharma, who has also been retained. Taking a look at their all-rounders, Krunal Pandya is a notable retention for the team. They surely could not miss out on the player who received the POTM award in their first final which came in a winning cause.
Along with that, the power hitters, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, and Jacob Bethell have been retained by the team. Their batting order starts with aggressive players and even brings aggressive players down the order. RCB would be bringing a line-up which is enough to scare the bowlers of any team.
The same also goes with their bowling department. As their post said, that the 12th Man Army doesn't need to worry about the retentions, it was true with the pace department. Josh Hazlewood has been retained by RCB, and he will also get his bowling partners, which includes Yash Dayal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Keeping up some backup pace options, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have also retained Nuwan Thushara and Rasikh Salam. There were talks about who could make it to the team's spin department, which posed some challenges in the previous season.
Fortunately, Suyash Sharma, whom the team brought in the Mega Auction, has been retained. He was not an economical bowler for the team in the majority of the games, but he proved his worth in the knockout matches. These were some of the key retentions done by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the next season.
Released Players
Royal Challengers Bengaluru had made sure that they did not release any of their key players. But having all of them remain in the team was not possible for the team, due to which they have also made some shocking releases. Swastik Chikara has now been released by the team, as he did not get even a single game to play in the last season.
Fans are more disappointed with this release, as Swastik Chikara was a lot closer to Virat Kohli. And watching Virat Kohli without him for the next season would even disappoint them. Along with that, the team has also released Mayank Agarwal from the line-up, despite his key role for the team in the last season.
RCB Released Players List:
- Swastik Chikara - 30 Lakh
- Mayank Agarwal - 1 Crore
- Tim Seifert - 2 Crore (Foreign)
- Liam Livingstone - 8.75 Crores (Foreign)
- Manoj Bhandage - 30 Lakh
- Lungi Ngidi - 1 Crore (Foreign)
- Blessing Muzarabani - 75 Lakh (Foreign)
- Mohit Rathee - 30 Lakh
Tim Seifert, the New Zealand wicket-keeper, has also been released by the team. Several fans even saw it coming, as the team already has Phil Salt and Jitesh Sharma in the wicket-keeper slot. By releasing Tim Seifert, the team has focused on removing the foreign players.
Along with that, Liam Livingstone was yet another top release by the team. The team had already spent 8.75 crore rupees to get Livingstone in the Mega Auction. But his performances with the bat were not that good for them, due to which RCB had to make a tough choice to release him ahead of the next edition.
Manoj Bhandage and Mohit Rathee have also been released from the team, and they also didn't receive many opportunities to play in the last season. Along with that, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have also made some releases in the pace bowling line-up. One of these includes the name of South African pacer, Lungi Ngidi.
Ngidi played just two games for the team in the last season, when Hazlewood was unable to play. Along with that, Blessing Muzarabani was also called upon by the team for the playoffs. But he didn't receive an opportunity to play even one game. As a result, RCB ended up releasing both Ngidi and Muzarabani.
Purse Remaining
Royal Challengers Bengaluru is now having 16.40 crore rupees in their purse ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Taking a look at the players they have released, it is clear that the team will eye some foreign players in the next auction. Out of the 9 releases which have been made by the team, four of them are foreign players.
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