Royal Challengers Bengaluru have made one of the boldest decisions in their IPL history as they have rested star batsman Virat Kohli while using him as an impact player. Kohli, who normally opens the innings for the Royal Challengers, would step in during the second innings.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru had a promising start to the season as the defending champions of the tournament. They won their first title in 2025, ending an 18-season drought, and Virat had a big role to play, scoring the most runs with the bat.

Royal Challengers are currently third in the points table with three wins after four matches. They only lost after the game against Rajasthan Royals when their batsmen struggled against the RR bowlers.

RCB pushes Virat Kohli as Impact player against LSG

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss against Lucknow Super Giants at their home ground at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB won the toss and opted to play first; However, what Rajat Patidar announced next left everyone shocked.

Virat Kohli has been opening the innings so far; However, in the last match against the Mumbai Indians, Kohli did not take the field during the second innings. It was revealed that Kohli had faced some sort of injury which kept him off the field.

However, Kohli returned to the nets ahead of the clash against Lucknow Super Giants and will now be used as an impact player in the game as Patidar revealed that he is not part of the playing XI during the bowling innings but is one of the five impact players.

Josh Hazlewood has replaced Jacob Duffy at RCB

The Australian pacer has returned to playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru after missing the opening matches of the tournament. On the other hand, RCB has not faced a massive backlash as Jacob Duffy emerged as a major wicket-taker for the Royal Challengers.

The Australian speedster featured in his last game at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati against Rajasthan Royals and despite picking wickets, RR opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took him for a few runs.

Josh Hazlewood will feature in RCB’s first match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the home ground of the defending champions. RCB, on the other hand, found Hazlewood leading the purple caps tally with 20+ wickets in the previous season.

RCB won both their matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium in IPL 2026

Playing four matches so far this season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have won three of the matches and lost their only game against Rajasthan Royals. Under the captaincy of Rajat Patidar, the Challengers won the first match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

RCB continued their dominant run at their home ground, the Chinnaswamy Stadium. They scored a massive 250 in their second game at this venue against the Chennai Super Kings and won the match by a whopping 43 runs.

They are undefeated at this stadium in this edition of the competition, unlike last season when they lost their first home games.

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