New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) return to IPL 2026 with a point to prove. At the centre of it all is Virat Kohli. After finally ending their title drought last season, RCB, led by Rajat Patidar, now faces the challenge of maintaining success under new conditions and higher expectations.

Strengths:

RCB’s biggest advantage is continuity. Keeping the core of their title-winning squad ensures strong team chemistry and clear roles. Their batting lineup is one of the most powerful in the league. With Kohli anchoring the innings and explosive players like Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, and Tim David supporting him, RCB has both stability and firepower. The addition of Venkatesh Iyer further boosts the Indian core, providing flexibility across the batting order and an extra bowling option. In the pace department, the experienced pair of Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar offers control and wicket-taking skills at different stages. All-rounders like Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd enhance the team balance.

Weaknesses:

RCB will have a lot of experience in their fast bowling unit; all the fast bowlers have fitness issues that must be addressed. All of them have past instances of injuries or lack of regular matches, so Hazlewood will need to get back into playing quickly. The backup bowling options for the team, Jacob Duffy and Mangesh Yadav, do not have extensive IPL experience, so if the team sustains injuries at any positions, RCB could be challenged in terms of depth. The chance of RCB’s spin bowling group being an unknown factor this season is still very much a question to be determined. While Suyash Sharma has shown to be inconsistent, he demonstrated great potential last season and now needs to become a steadier performer as part of the RCB group. The other options outside Sharma are either minor supporting bowlers or part-time spinners, and they could struggle versus slower pitch conditions.

Opportunities:

RCB might benefit by having the ability to play at several new venues outside of M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which generally favour the batters. The new venues of Raipur and Mumbai will provide several ways for both pace bowlers to assist in making RCB more successful in their pace bowling attack. For Venkatesh Iyer, this is an opportunity for him to cement his position within the team, while achieving the type of consistency that comes only from working in a stable environment. Younger players such as Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, and Suyash Sharma will all have the opportunity for their stature to rise within a championship-type team and to make a solid contribution to the team.

Threats:

Historically, defending a title in the IPL is difficult, as other teams will place added pressure and use specific plans against the title defender. Performance from veterans like Kohli and Hazlewood will play a big part in RCB’s chances of winning, as any drop-off in their games could affect RCB’s ability to keep their winning streak going through the tournament.

RCB squad:

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, Suyash Sharma, Venkatesh Iyer, Mangesh Yadav, Jacob Duffy, Satwik Deswal, Jordan Cox, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Vicky Ostwal.

–IANS

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