IPL 2026 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Full Official Retained Players List

From Virat Kohli to Rajat Patidar, explore the full official retained squad and players list for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for IPL 2026. 

With the IPL 2026 Retention deadline now official over, the IPL 2025 champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, have announced their official retentions for IPL 2026, and more or less, it seems to be on the expected lines. The RCB team has retained a total of 17 players, including 6 Overseas players. The Mini Auctions have always seen successful teams retaining most of their squad, and RCB have done no different.

The RCB team has focused on retaining not only their core but also a few good backups that are necessary for them. With as many as 17 players retained, RCB now have just 16.4 Cr left for their Auction purse. With such a small purse, one can guess RCB will mostly look to fill backups, with a couple of players getting more than the base price. But how does the Royal Challengers Bengaluru look on paper before the Auction?

Well, if we start with the core of the RCB team, we have Virat Kohli, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, and Rajat Patidar among the first-choice batters. Then we have Jitesh Sharma and Phil Salt among quality wicket-keepers. Thirdly, among All-rounders, RCB have Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd among quality options. Whereas in the bowling department, RCB have Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, and Suyash Sharma. 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) IPL 2026 Retentions Explained 

With 12 core players that will most likely be a part of the strongest playing 11 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the team has 5 more backup players. The team has Jacob Bethell as the backup for Romario Shephard, Abhinandan Singh and Rasikh Dar as the backup for Yash Dayal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Then, RCB have Swapnil Singh as the backup for Krunal Pandya, and Nuwan Thushara as the backup for Josh Hazlewood. 

Overall, RCB have the right mix of 17 players before the Auction, and when it comes to their strengths currently, it is the presence of a strong core of 12 players that makes this team stand out. The playing 11 seems perfect even before the Auction, and this is their biggest strength. But when it comes to their weakness, the team still needs a good finisher like Liam Livingstone, and another good backup Overseas spinner or pacer.

Also, while Yash Dayal, Suyash Sharma, and their backups are promising bowlers, this is still RCB’s biggest headache. These are good bowlers, but not the best if we compare them with the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, etc. So, while RCB are extremely competent in the batting department, there are visible gaps in the bowling department, which may or may not get addressed by them in the IPL 2026 Mini Auction. 

IPL 2026 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Full Retained Players List

Batters & Wks

• Devdutt Padikkal
• Rajat Patidar (c)
• Tim David (f)
• Virat Kohli
• Jitesh Sharma (wk)
• Phil Salt (f&wk)

All-rounders

• Jacob Bethell (f)
• Krunal Pandya
• Romario Shephard (f)
• Swapnil Singh

Bowlers

• Abhinandan Singh
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar
• Josh Hazlewood (f)
• Nuwan Thushara (f)
• Rasikh Dar
• Suyash Sharma
• Yash Dayal

Total Players Retained by RCB: 17 // Auction Purse Left: 16.4 Cr

So, that’s about the complete squad and retained players list for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for IPL 2026. The RCB team has to fill at least 18 players overall for IPL 2026, and can buy a maximum of  8 players in the Auction. The team has a space for 2 more Overseas players, and they have INR 16.4 Cr left with them for the Auction. 

© IPLadda