Virat Kohli used as an impact player despite fitness issue in LSG clash

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have made one of the boldest calls in their history of the IPL, as they have rested star batter Virat Kohli while using him as an impact player. Kohli, who usually opens the innings for the Royal Challengers, would step in during the second innings.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru made a promising start to their season as the defending champions of the tournament. They won their first title in 2025, ending a drought of 18 seasons, and Virat had a major role to play, scoring the most runs with the bat.

Currently, the Royal Challengers are placed third in the points table with three wins after four matches. They only lost after the game against the Rajasthan Royals when their batters struggled against the RR bowlers.

RCB push Virat Kohli as an Impact player against LSG

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss against the Lucknow Super Giants at their home ground at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB won the toss and opted to field first; however, what Rajat Patidar announced next left everyone shocked.

Virat Kohli was opening the innings until now; however, in the last game against the Mumbai Indians, Kohli did not take the field during the second innings. It was revealed that Kohli had faced some kind of injury that kept him off the field.

However, Kohli returned to the nets ahead of the clash against the Lucknow Super Giants and now will be used as an impact player in the game, as Patidar revealed that he is not part of the playing XI during the bowling innings but is one of the five impact players.

Josh Hazlewood has replaced Jacob Duffy for RCB

The Australian pacer has returned to play for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru after having missed the initial games in the tournament. On the other hand, RCB has not faced a massive backlash as Jacob Duffy emerged as a major wicket-taker for the Royal Challengers.

The Aussie speedster featured in their last game at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati against the Rajasthan Royals, and despite picking wickets, he was taken for some runs by the RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Josh Hazlewood will feature in RCB's first game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the home ground for the defending champions. RCB, on the other hand, found Hazlewood leading the purple cap tally with 20+ wickets in the previous season.

RCB have won both their matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in IPL 2026

Playing four matches so far in this season, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have won three of the matches while losing their only game against the Rajasthan Royals. Under Rajat Patidar's captaincy, the Challengers won the first match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

RCB continued their dominant run at their home ground in the Chinnaswamy Stadium. They scored a massive 250 in their second game at this venue against the Chennai Super Kings and won the match by a mammoth 43 runs.

They are undefeated at this stadium in this edition of the competition, unlike the last season, when they had lost their initial matches at the home stadium.

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