indian premier league - ipl

He Did Not Get To Play Last Season but RCB Youngster Is Making a Strong Case for IPL 2026 Retention With His Fiery Batting in UP T20

Chandra Moulee Das

Last updated: August 23, 2025

2 min read

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) young recruit Swastik Chikara might not have got a chance to play last season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but his recent heroics in the ongoing UP T20 League 2025 will definitely keep him in contention for a retention spot ahead of the IPL 2026 auction later this year.

Playing for the Meerut Mavericks which his led by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Rinku Singh, Chikara gave a testament to his sheer batting prowess by slamming a quickfire 58(41) in the match against the Kashi Rudras earlier today (August 23).

Chasing a big total of 225, Chikara showed great mentality to bat deep after opening the innings before accelerating his knock. However, he failed to take his team over the finishing line with the Mavericks losing wickets in regular intervals and Chikara also bit the dust in the 17th over.

The INR 30 lakhs RCB recruit has so far looked in decent touch in the tournament and is currently the 10th highest run-scorer with 119 runs in four innings. He has managed scores of 19(27), 32(24), 10(10) and 58(41).

In the last UPT20 season, he impressed by finishing as the top run scorer with 499 runs in 12 innings.

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Will RCB retain Swastik Chikara for IPL 2026?

With the presence of England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt and Virat Kohli at the top of the RCB batting order, Chikara has found it difficult to cut out a spot for himself in the playing XI. However, there are rumours of Salt being traded away ahead of IPL 2026 with his former franchise KKR being a potential destination.

In case of such a void, Swastik Chikara might find himself an opportunity to don the RCB jersey. He can also be used as an impact sub. Nevertheless, he is a tremendous talent and even if RCB can’t provide him a slot, they can use him as a backup option with a goal for the future.

Furthermore, RCB had a brilliant auction last time around and they aren’t expected to tinker much with their squad in the IPL 2026 auction later this year, barring a few signings and adjustments in a bid to bolster their lineup.