New Delhi, March 27 Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has selected his strongest playing XI for the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), ahead of their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), which is scheduled to be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
RCB has made only minor changes to their squad for the new season, but the additions of Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, and Jacob Bethell, along with Devdutt Padikkal looking in great form, have created a dilemma for the team management when selecting their playing XI.
In a video shared on X, Chopra attempted to answer three key questions for the team management while selecting the best-suited team for the season.
He believes that the first major challenge for RCB is deciding between Padikkal and Iyer at number 3. According to him, despite Iyer providing a bowling option, RCB should opt for Padikkal, who is in excellent form.
Chopra has excluded Jacob Bethell from his team, as he has chosen Phil Salt, Tim David, and Romario Shepherd as overseas batsmen and all-rounders. According to him, RCB will need to play an overseas fast bowler, and the defending champions should opt for New Zealand pacer Duffy, who had a decent performance in the World Cup. He has also left out Josh Hazlewood, who arrived in Bengaluru on Friday after recovering from an injury.
RCB faced a major setback ahead of IPL 2026 as their key bowler, Yash Dayal, has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to personal reasons. According to Chopra, either debutant Mangesh Yadav or Rasikh Salam could take his place in the playing XI.
Aakash Chopra's playing XI:
Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Mangesh Yadav/Rasikh Salam.