RCB Retained and Released players list for IPL 2026: Full Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad ahead of auction
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The defending champions of the IPL 2025, RCB, have retained most of their core players who played a massive role in their road to the first-ever IPL title. RCB has a relatively better purse than many teams but yet they might not be seen as contesting too much for any player in the mini-auction.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the previous edition of the IPL and undoubtedly would be one of the most confident sides this season. Though some of their key players have faced constant injury issues as well, some have been majorly out of touch.
The Rajat Patidar side would still be confident enough to retain their title, despite another major setback at their home ground; the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will no longer be hosting matches for the Challengers, following the stampede incidents.
Defending Champions RCB release English all-rounder after ineffective season
The defending champions featured English all-rounder Liam Livingstone for most of the season. However, he failed to be as promising as he should have been and was hence considered ideal to be released by the champions' side.
He seemed to be their only weak link in the batting order. RCB was not hampered due to his lack of prowess, as Jitesh Sharma and Tim David played some remarkable hands to overcome his poor show.
Bought for a whopping INR 8.75 crores, Livingstone could manage not more than 112 runs in his 10 matches and just 2 wickets after having bowled 9 overs in the season. Also, his strike rate dipped to as low as 130, which is very low by his standards.
RCB Players Retained from their Title-winning campaign
The RCB side has retained most of their core team, and considering the form of Josh Hazlewood, Tim David, Rajat Patidar, and Jitesh Sharma, they are most likely to be retained. Also, RCB kept faith in Romario Shepherd and Jacob Bethell, the two talented youngsters who did not get enough playing opportunities last season.
RCB Retained Players - Rajat Patidar (C), Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Rasikh Salam, Abhinandan Singh, and Suyash Sharma.
RCB Players released ahead of mini-auction
They have released most of the players as per expectations, except for keeping a rationalized substitute for paceman Josh Hazlewood. Though they still have Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal, they do not have a like replacement for Hazlewood after Lungi Ngidi's release. This also seemed a bit unreasonable, as he was not even worth such a fortune.
RCB Released Players - Liam Livingstone, Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Tim Seifert, Manoj Bhandage, Lungi Ngidi, Blessing Muzarabani, and Mohit Rathee.
With a purse of INR 16.4 crores, the Royal Challengers might not be actively looking to rope in a few fine picks, especially after the likes of Ravi Bishnoi, Andre Russell, and Gerald Coetzee are out to be picked in the mini-auction.
ALSO READ: RR Retained and Released Players List for IPL 2026: Full Rajasthan Royals squad before auction
Tagged:
IPL Royal Challengers Bangalore RCB Liam Livingstone Lungi Ngidi Rajat Patidar Virat Kohli Royal Challengers Bengaluru
