24 March,2026 05:36 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood (Pic: File Pic)
The IPL 2026 is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections.
Ahead of the league, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) director of cricket, Mo Bobat, provided an update on pacers Yash Dayal and Josh Hazlewood.
Speaking about Dayal, he said that the pacer is going through a personal situation, following which he won't be able to join the squad. The director also said that Dayal will continue to remain under the contract.
"Just to confirm that Yash will not be joining the squad. As you know, he is going through a personal situation currently. And just to clarify, we have been very supportive of Yash to date. And that's reflected in the fact that we retained him. And he remains under contract and will continue to, in the short term, be foreseeable to remain under contract. We are communicating with him regularly, and I spoke to him earlier today as well. But it's been decided that it is not in his best interest, or the franchise's best interest, for him to join RCB at this point," he said.
Further, he also said that Australia's star pacer Hazlewood has missed the action due to injury. He stated that once Cricket Australia (CA) gives a green signal for the pacer's fitness, he will join the squad.
"With Josh, it's straightforward. He's missed some cricket due to injury, and we're in constant touch with Cricket Australia. As soon as they're comfortable with his fitness, he'll join us. Having strong relationships with boards makes a big difference in situations like this," said Bobat.
The first match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at them. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan (WK), Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Zeeshan Ansari, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards, Harsh Dubey, Salil Arora (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Smaran Ravichandran, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma, Shivang Kumar, Krains Bhaveshbhai Fuletra, Omkar Tarmale.
(With ANI Inputs)
