The first match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's players celebrate a wicket during an IPL match (Pic: File Pic)
The IPL 2026 is all set to kick off on Saturday. The first match of the tournament is scheduled to be played between the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Ahead of the match, the RCB players will wear black armbands to pay tribute to fans, who earlier lost their lives in the stampede outside the stadium following the team's historic title win in the previous year.
A statement from RCB said, "Royal Challengers Bengaluru will pay tribute to the eleven members of the RCB family who tragically lost their lives in the unfortunate incident on June 4".
"As a mark of respect, players will wear practice jerseys bearing the number 11 during the warm-up, followed by black armbands during the match. In a lasting gesture of remembrance, eleven seats at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will remain unoccupied, serving as a permanent tribute to the fans whose unwavering support will always be a part of the RCB family," the statement concluded.
Considering the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Travis Head, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, and Romario Shepherd, the clash promises to be a high-scoring game.
Both teams have geared up, and the defending champions, RCB, will be looking to begin their title-defending campaign by securing a win tonight. On the other hand, in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins, Ishan Kishan has been appointed as the stand-in captain for Hyderabad.
IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Full Squads
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)
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