Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head into the IPL 2026 auction as defending champions after they ended their 18-year title drought under Rajat Patidar’s captaincy. Hence, the team is expected to make minimal changes in their squad. This is the first time ever RCB is going into the auction with a very balanced squad and the team has a great combination of young and experienced players.
However, there are a few players that can be released ahead of the November 15 mini-auction which will give the franchise more time to strengthen their squad. The spotlight will be on English all-rounder Liam Livingstone who was brought in for a very expensive fee of INR 8.75 crore but he struggled to make an impact – scoring just 112 runs with an average of 16.
In the bowling department, it is most likely that RCB will be retaining Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who together claimed 39 wickets in the last season. But there is a chance that Rasikh dar Salam might be released as he was purchased for INR 6 crore but he also couldn’t leave much impact in IPL 2025.
The team’s top order will remain intact with Virat Kohli and Phil Salt forming a very successful opening pair. Devdutt Padikkal flourishing at No. 3, and Patidar captaining the team and handling the middle order strongly.
Hence, the two big names that can be released by RCB are Liam Livingstone and Rasikh Salam Dar. Apart from these two, there are a few more players that might not be able to sustain their spot in the team.
Probable Players That Can Be Released By RCB : Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Salam Dar, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh
