In nearly 11 months, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will finally to host a high-profile cricket match in the 19th season of the IPL, when the Royal Challengers Bengaluru will encounter with Sunrisers Hyderabad. In terms of personal for both teams hardly anything has changed, but given the wealth of batting resources at RCB’s disposal, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru faces some tricky selection issues, and what playing XI – actually 12 considering the Impact Player role – RCB put out for the season opener will give an early signal of how they want to go about their job in IPL 2026.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru begins with the top, with at least three contenders for the opening slot. An automatic choice is Virat Kohli, but who of Salt and his young English compatriot Jacob Bethell will link up with the former captain remains to be seen. In last season of IPL Salt was outstanding scoring 403 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of 175.98, often setting the tempo for Royal Challengers Bengaluru while Kohli bided his time before switching gears.
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The issue though is that Salt is checking into IPL on the back of a poor performance in T20 World Cup for England, in which he scored only 130 runs in eight matches. On the other side, the 22-year-old Bethell is scoring with confidence, having scored an exceptional century in the semifinal, where he almost broken-down party of India in Mumbai.
Even during the ‘nets’ Salt has looked tense,while Bethell has appeared self-confident. However, RCB will use Bethell as a finisher but may stick with Salt.
As two of last season’s top performers – Yash Dayal and Josh Hazlewood – will be missing in action. While Dayal, in the middle of a legal wrangle, has ruled himself out of the IPL 2026 season. Hazlewood, due to double injury may miss a few matches as he looks to get back into the groove following months on the sidelines.
