IPL 2026 RCB vs SRH Playing 11: Rajat Patidar-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru will square off against Ishan Kishan-led Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 1st match of the IPL 2026 on March 28 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

The grand cricketing league is set to return with bigger and more exciting games during the 19th edition of the season.

With the return of Virat Kohli donning the RCB jersey, fans are excited to see Bengaluru’s title defence.

Both sides have met on 26 occasions, where RCB has won on 11 occasions, while SRH have won on 13 occasions, and two games ended with no result.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and opted to bowl first. Speaking at the toss, Rajat Patidar said, “We are going to bowl first. As we know, it is a season opener, so let us see how the wicket behaves.

Of course, there are a lot of positives from the last year. We are not going into defending anything. We are playing to become the champions,” added RCB captain.

There are a lot of good players in the side, everyone is fit and looking forward to this game. We’ll try our best to put a second star on the jersey,” continued Rajat Patidar.

We have a couple of new guys. Jacob (Duffy) and Abhinandan are playing their first game,” concluded Patidar.

Meanwhile, SRH captain Ishan Kishan said, “It feels good. It’s our first game. We would’ve bowled first as well. It looks like a fresh wicket. It doesn’t matter at the end of the day whether you bat first or bowl first. You just need to back your instincts and play good cricket.

(On leading SRH tonight) I am just trying to keep things simple. You don’t have to start doing something new because it’s IPL. We have made some plans and we will look to execute it well,” added Ishan Kishan.

Speaking on Pat Cummins absence, Ishan Kishan said, “Obviously Pat is a big miss for us. He is one of the best bowlers in the team. Missing him out in the team makes a big difference. I think everyone looks in good touch. It’s just about executing your plans and hopefully we will win the game if we do the right things. ”

Speaking on their playing 11, “Yes, as we are batting first so Salil (Arora) is playing tonight. He has been in good touch lately. I just want him to keep things simple, watch the ball well and play his natural game,” concluded Ishan Kishan.

Before heading to the game, cricket fans can also review Chinnaswamy Stadium weather report for the IPL 2026 clash.

IPL 2026 RCB vs SRH Playing 11

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing 11: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma

Imp Sub: Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer

Sunrisers Hyderabad Playing 11: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga

Imp Sub: Shivang Kumar, Liam Livingstone, David Payne, Smaran Ravichandran, Sakib Hussain