RCB's IPL 2026 campaign begins tomorrow against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru and it is fair to say the build-up has not gone entirely to plan.

The franchise have been dealt one blow after another in the weeks leading up to the tournament opener and the injury and availability concerns around their fast bowling stocks have been a persistent source of anxiety for the team management.

With the season literally hours away with RCB vs SRH game be the tournament opener, another piece of bad news has emerged from the RCB camp and it is not what Rajat Patidar and his defending champions would have wanted to hear on the eve of their title defence.

IPL 2026: What happened with Nuwan Thushara ahead of RCB vs SRH game

Sri Lanka Cricket made fitness tests mandatory for all their players before granting NOCs to play in the IPL this season, and Nuwan Thushara has fallen at that hurdle.

SLC chief executive Ashley de Silva confirmed that Nuwan Thushara failed to achieve the pass score of 17 out of 29 points across five different metrics in the fitness test, and as a result has been denied the NOC required to join RCB.

He will not be available for at least the RCB vs SRH tomorrow and possibly the second game against Chennai Super Kings on April 5 as well.

The good news is that he can retake the fitness test in four to five days. However, if he fails again, he might not be allowed to play representative cricket for the foreseeable future, effectively ending his IPL 2026 season before it even starts.

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IPL 2026: How much this hurts Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

Thushara's unavailability stings because RCB's pace bowling resources are already stretched thin this season. Yash Dayal has been ruled out of the tournament entirely and there are lingering question marks over just how much cricket Josh Hazlewood will be able to play given his workload management history.

Thushara was very much part of RCB's plans as a genuine wicket-taking threat with the new ball, and losing him even temporarily forces the team management to rethink their bowling combinations heading into the most important game of their season so far.

Defending an IPL title is hard enough with a full squad, doing it while scrambling for fast bowling options on the opening night makes it considerably harder.

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