Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore remain one of the IPL’s most popular franchises despite never winning a title in 17 seasons. Owned by the United Spirits group, the team plays its home matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and is built around the enduring presence of Virat Kohli. RCB reached the final in 2009 and 2016 and have finished runners-up three times, yet the championship continues to elude them.

In IPL 2025 the side finished seventh on the points table after a campaign marked by inconsistent middle-order contributions and an injury-disrupted pace attack. Despite Kohli’s customary run-scoring and a few standout death-over spells from Josh Hazlewood, RCB could not convert promising starts into victories and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Ahead of the 2026 mega auction the franchise retained Virat Kohli, Tim David, Phil Salt, Krunal Pandya and Josh Hazlewood while releasing Liam Livingstone, Mayank Agarwal, Lungi Ngidi, Manoj Bhandage and Swastik Chikara. The retained core offers batting firepower and two quality overseas pacers, yet the squad still lacks a proven wrist-spin option and depth in the middle order. With an auction purse of ₹61 crore, RCB should target Devon Conway for stability at the top, Wanindu Hasaranga for variety in the spin department, and Gerald Coetzee to strengthen the seam attack.