Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, will begin the 2026 edition on March 28 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The franchise will be without Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood for the first few games as he is yet to recover from an injury that previously ruled him out of the Ashes and the T20 World Cup. The 35-year-old was expected to recover in time for the IPL 2026 season; however, he is expected to remain on the sidelines for some more time as he is currently undergoing rehab in Australia.
Hazlewood will only join the RCB camp once he gets the clearance from Cricket Australia. As of now, no one really knows when the pacer will join the squad. On Tuesday, RCB's Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, said that the franchise is in constant touch with both Josh and Cricket Australia, and he would arrive in India once the formal go-ahead comes from the medical team Down Under.
Hazlewood was expected to be a major player for RCB in IPL 2026, considering his performance last season, where the franchise won the tournament. Hazlewood was the leading wicket-taker for RCB, scalping 22 wickets.
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“As most people would know, Josh has missed quite a bit of cricket recently with injuries. He’s currently working through a return-to-play programme in Australia, and we are liaising closely with Cricket Australia and our medical teams on a daily basis," Bobat told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}“As most people would know, Josh has missed quite a bit of cricket recently with injuries. He’s currently working through a return-to-play programme in Australia, and we are liaising closely with Cricket Australia and our medical teams on a daily basis," Bobat told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}“We’ll continue to communicate with them, and as soon as he gets to a point where Cricket Australia are happy, he’ll come over, and we hope to have him with us very soon," he added.
Hazlewood at first injured his right hamstring while representing New South Wales, and this resulted in him being ruled out of the Ashes opener in Perth. During his recovery period, the pacer faced another setback, suffering an Achilles injury, which ruled him out of the remainder of the Ashes and subsequently the T20 World Cup.
Yash Dayal also out
RCB on Tuesday also confirmed that Yash Dayal wouldn't be a part of the team in IPL 2026 due to a “personal matter.” According to reports, Dayal is facing multiple allegations of sexual exploitation.
However, the RCB Director of Cricket is not fussed about RCB's bowling, saying the squad has plenty of experience and several players willing to rise to the challenge.
“We have some excellent domestic fast bowlers in our squad. Rasik, who you know many of you will know, Abhinandan, who we had with us last year, and then we also signed Mangesh in this auction, so domestically we have three excellent potential options there that could replace him," he said.