Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended their long wait for their first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title on June 3, 2025. In the summit clash played at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 3, the Bengaluru-based franchise, under the leadership of Rajat Patidar, defeated Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings by six runs. In the 2025 edition of the world’s richest franchise cricket league, the majority of the RCB players came up with impressive performances and helped them win their first-ever IPL title.
In the 2026 edition, which is expected to kick off in mid-March, they would like to repeat the same show once again and successfully defend their title.
But before the start of the 19th edition of the cash-rich league, RCB would like to make space for new
players in their squad by releasing a few members of their 2025 squad.
Here’s a look at five players RCB can release ahead of the IPL 2026 auctions:
Liam Livingstone
RCB signed England’s batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone for Rs 8.75 crore in the mega auction last year. The 32-year-old cricketer, who has previously represented Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals, played 10 matches for the Rajat Patidar-led side but could only manage to score 112 runs. He played a knock of 54 runs against Gujarat Titans in RCB’s third league match at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium but was not able to replicate his performance in the remaining matches. He also rolled his arm in five matches but was only able to take two wickets.
Rasikh Salam
Jammu and Kashmir-based pacer Rasikh Salam Dar, who now represents Baroda in domestic cricket, joined RCB for Rs 6 crore in the mega auctions last year. He made his RCB debut in the tournament’s opener against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on March 22, 2025, and picked up one wicket for 35 runs in three overs. The 25-year-old pacer, who has played for MI, KKR and DC in the past, got a chance to play one more match (vs GT on April 2) as well in IPL 2025, but after he failed to get any wickets in that fixture, he warmed the bench in the remainder of the season.
Yash Dayal
RCB retained uncapped Indian pacer Yash Dayal for Rs 5 crore ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auctions. The Uttar Pradesh-based cricketer has played 29 matches for RCB in the last two seasons and picked up 28 wickets. RCB could part ways with him after he made headlines for a complaint of sexual harassment earlier this year.
Lungi Ngidi
South African fast bowler Lungi Ngidi, who was signed for Rs 1 crore in the mega auction, played two matches for RCB in IPL 2025 and picked up four wickets. The 29-year-old fast bowler from Durban, who has represented CSK and DC in the past, struggled for regular game time with RCB, and there’s a possibility of him parting ways with the team in order to get more playing opportunities.
Swapnil Singh
34-year-old Swapnil Singh was signed by RCB for Rs 50 lakh in the IPL 2025 mega auction via RTM card, but he didn’t got a chance to play any match.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s squad for IPL 2025: Rajat Patidar (C), Mayank Agarwal, Swastik Chikara, Tim David, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt (WK), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Manoj Bhandage, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Rathee, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Abhinandan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Nuwan Thushara, Swapnil Singh, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Thushara
Replacement for playoffs: Tim Seifert, Blessing Muzarabani
