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
Virat Kohli (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, RCB stalwart Virat Kohli cleared the air on his new haircut. Earlier, there were several rumours that he decided to select the haircut after seeing his AI-generated pictures.
Speaking on PUMA India’s New Broadcast Channel, when asked about his haircut, he said, "No, I was shown the AI pictures after, and I did not do the cut by looking at the pictures".
The 37-year-old cricketer is also the leading run-scorer in the history of the tournament. So far, having made 267 appearances in the league, Kohli has smashed 8661 runs, with a top score of an unbeaten 113 runs. He also has eight tons and 63 half-centuries to his name.
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.
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