The M Chinnaswamy Stadium has already started to buzz ahead of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) IPL 2026 opener. But both sides must navigate this high-stakes clash without their Australian pace icons. With Josh Hazlewood (RCB) and Pat Cummins (SRH) sidelined, it is now a necessary to move to the Plan B.
For RCB, the absence of Hazlewood’s discipline is a blow to their Powerplay stability. For SRH, losing Cummins is a double blow, as they also lose their captain, forcing a sudden leadership transition to Ishan Kishan.
RCB’s strategy: A new-look attack
The defending champions, led by Rajat Patidar will rely on Swing King Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is just two wickets away from becoming the first pacer to reach 200 IPL wickets. In Hazlewood’s absence, Bhuvi will spearhead an attack that leans on domestic craft and international X-factors like Jacob Duffy.
RCB’s batting looks terrifyingly explosive with Phil Salt joining Virat Kohli at the top. The strategy is clear: out-bat the opposition on a small ground while using the Impact Player rule to bolster the death bowling with Rasikh Salam.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma
Impact Sub Options: Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer
SRH’s Gamble: The Ishan Kishan Era
SRH enter 2026 with the most destructive top-three in the league: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and interim captain Ishan Kishan. Without Cummins to hold the bowling unit together, SRH’s philosophy will be all-out attack.
The bowling responsibilities shift to Harshal Patel, who returns to his old hunting ground in Bengaluru. The Sunrisers will also rely on the veteran Jaydev Unadkat.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga
Impact Sub Options: Shivang Kumar, Liam Livingstone, David Payne, Smaran Ravichandran, Sakib Hussain