Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru made some strong buys during the IPL 2026 auction to strengthen their squad further. The reigning champions kept their focus on all-rounders and also bolstered their bowling line-up further with some smart picks during the bidding war in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16.
RCB entered the auction needing eight players and had Rs 16.40 crore in the bag. They bought former KKR all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer at Rs 7 crore as he joins hands with his Madhya Pradesh captain Rajat Patidar, who led RCB to their maiden IPL title in 2025. Iyer's IPL salary came down from Rs 23.75 crore to Rs 7 crore, a 70.52% drop from his previous salary.
Meanwhile, RCB also bought all-rounders Satvik Deswal (INR 30 lakh), Mangesh Yadav (INR 5.20 Cr) and took New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy for Rs 2 crore.
How does RCB's squad look for IPL 2026
How does RCB's team look like for IPL 2026
RCB's team has a blend of all things that they would want. They have the likes of Virat Kohli and Phil Salt at the top, Iyer, Jacob Bethell, Krunal Pandya and Rajat Patidar in the middle. The defending champions have Tim David, Romario Shepherd and Jitesh Sharma to finish things. They have spinners in Pandya, Suyash Sharma and Swapnil Singh and pacers like Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Shepherd, Yash Dayal and Mangesh.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru full squad:
Retentions: Abhinandan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, Nuwan Thushara, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Rasikh Dar, Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal
Auction Buys: Venkatesh Iyer (INR 7 Cr), Satvik Deswal (INR 30 lakh), Mangesh Yadav (INR 5.20 Cr), Jacob Duffy (INR 2 Cr), Jordan Coax (Rs 75 lakh), Vicky Ostwal (Rs 30 lakh), Vihaan Malhotra (RS 30 lakh), Kanishk Chouhan (Rs 30 lakh)
