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Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the opening clash of IPL 2026, as actions returns at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Fresh faces and bold calls in team selection

Both teams are testing a few new combinations early in the season. For RCB, talented Kiwi pacer Jacob Duffy and Abhinandan Singh are set to make their IPL debut.

SRH also have a debutant in their side with Salil Arora coming in. They seem to be going with a batting heavy approach despite the absence of Cummins.

Captains take ahead of opening clash

The RCB skipper Rajat Patidar sounded confident and focused on adding another title to their cabin.

“Everyone is fit and looking forward to this game. Thank you so much for supporting us over the years. We’ll try our best to put a second star on our jersey.”

The stand SRH in captain Ishan Kishan admitted the absence of Pat Cummins but remained positive about the squad.

“Pat Cummins is one of the best bowlers in the team and in the IPL as well. Missing him makes a big difference. But I think everyone is in good touch, and it’s just about executing our plans.”

Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga

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