The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have had their 18 years long wait come to an end finally in the IPL 2025 season, lifting their first ever IPL trophy. But the work doesn’t stop here only, the focus has already shifted to next season. In this article, we take a look at RCB Target Players List 2026 IPL season.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru is one of the founding members of the Indian Premier League from 2008. The franchise has one of the biggest fan bases among the other IPL franchises, but the side have long been without a trophy.
But the IPL 2025 season was a turn-around. RCB were the most dominant team in the IPL 2025 season finishing at the top of the points and eventually beat the Punjab Kings in the final match to win their first ever IPL Trophy.
But the attention has already shifted to next season. During the IPL Retention 2026, RCB have already named a strong squad. But there are still some gaps to fill and a decent purse available. In this article, we take a look at the RCB Target Players List 2026 IPL season.
Table of Contents
RCB Retained Players List IPL 2026
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.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Released Players List 2026 IPL
Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Liam Livingstone, Manoj Bhandage, Lungi Ngidi, Blessing Muzarabani, Mohit Rathee
RCB Squad Analysis
Strength
- The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have a very well stacked batting line-up. Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Jitesh Sharma and Devdutt Padikkal are the pillars of the squad.
- The bowling department is also very good. Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thusara, Yash Dayal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are top pace bowlers while Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh and Suyash Sharma are very good spin bowling options.
Areas to Improve
- The all-rounders area needs some additional depth. They have the likes of Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Jacob Bethell who are very good with the bat while Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh are bowling all-rounders.
- RCB could also do with adding some batting options in the team. Phil Salt is the only proper overseas batter in the team and also needs to add some Indian players.
RCB Target Players 2026
| PLAYER | ROLE |
| Tim Seifert | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Shai Hope | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Andre Russell | All-rounder |
| Matthew Forde | All-rounder |
| Venkatesh Iyer | All-rounder |
| Abhinav Manohar | All-rounder |
| Krishnan Shrijith | Batter |
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Overseas Target Players
Tim Seifert
New Zealand’s wicketkeeper batter Tim Seifert is going to be a good option to add to their batting depth for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Seifert is a destructive batter but would also serve as a great backup for Phil Salt.
Shai Hope
Another great overseas batting option available in the IPL 2026 auction for RCB would be the Caribbean wicketkeeper batter Shai Hope. He was not rated well in T20 cricket before but has significantly improved his performance in recent times, establishing himself as one of the best West Indies T20 cricketers.
Andre Russell
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) surprised everyone by releasing Andre Russell ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. The Caribbean beast has particularly done very well at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. He would be a solid addition to their finishers category. However, there are a number of teams interested in the Caribbean all-rounder.
Matthew Forde
Another Caribbean all-rounder option who Royal Challengers Bengaluru can add to their RCB Target Players List 2026 IPL season is Matthew Forde. He is a very good hitter down the order and is a very good medium pace bowler. He would serve great as a backup to Romario Shepherd.
RCB Target Players Indian
Venkatesh Iyer
Among Indian targets, Royal Challengers Bengaluru can add Venkatesh Iyer in their RCB Target Players List 2026 IPL season. RCB were adamant in getting the Indian all-rounder into their team in the IPL 2025 Mega Auction but eventually KKR bought him for 23.75 Crore. But now that he has been released already, RCB will once again target him, but he would definitely be a costly option.
Abhinav Manohar
Another lower order finisher Royal Challengers Bengaluru can add to their team is local lad Abhinav Manohar. Manohar is a destructive batter down the order who can be a great backup to Romario Shepherd and Tim David. He is also a handy medium-pace bowler.
Krishnan Shrijith
Another local batsman Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) can add to their batting line-up is Krishnan Shrijith. The 29-years-old wicketkeeper batter would serve as a great backup option in the middle-order. Shrijith is a fantastic batsman who is equally adept against pace and spin and has been consistently performing well in the Maharaja T20 League.
RCB Probable XI after IPL 2026 Auction
Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Impact Players: Yash Dayal/ Swapnil Singh
NOTE: This is only our prediction and the actual RCB Target Players List 2026 IPL might be different.
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