The IPL 2026 auction will unfold on December 16.
The defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), will head into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season with a strong and well-balanced squad. However, they still have a few gaps to address, and the big question on everyone’s mind is who will RCB buy in the IPL 2026 auction.
RCB released eight players, including Liam Livingstone, Lungi Ngidi, Tim Seifert, Mohit Rathee, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Agarwal, Swastik Chikara, and Blessing Muzarabani. This has opened up space for fresh additions.
They will enter the IPL 2026 auction with a purse of INR 16.4 crore and eight slots to fill. Let’s take a look at five players who could be among RCB IPL 2026 auction targets.
Venkatesh Iyer could be among the RCB target players in the IPL 2026 auction. He was released by KKR on the retention deadline day. Since RCB will be looking for someone who can play in the No.3 or No.4 role, Venkatesh Iyer can be a good option. RCB had already shown interest in him during the 2025 auction when they were involved in a bidding war with KKR, but the previous champions eventually bought him for a huge amount of INR 23.75 crore.
Rajat Patidar, the captain of RCB, is also the skipper of the Madhya Pradesh team, where Venkatesh Iyer plays. Additionally, Iyer shares a good relationship with RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik, as they have played together for KKR, which could improve his chances of receiving a bid from RCB.
With Liam Livingstone being released ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, it will be interesting to see who will RCB buy as his replacement. One of the names that could be considered is Michael Bracewell. He is similar to Livingstone because he bowls spin and can bat in the middle order.
Bracewell has played for RCB before in the 2023 season, taking six wickets in five matches. His presence in the batting lineup would also help RCB, as they do not have many left-handers in the squad. For these reasons, he could be among the RCB IPL 2026 auction targets.
Gerald Coetzee was released by Gujarat Titans on the IPL 2026 retention deadline day. He played only four matches for GT last season. With Lungi Ngidi released by RCB, the defending champions will be looking for a replacement who can also act as a backup for Josh Hazlewood.
Among the pacers expected to be available in the IPL 2026 auction, Gerald Coetzee might be one of the options in the RCB target players list. His batting has also improved quite a bit. RCB may not look to make many changes to their lineup, but they can strengthen the squad by having Gerald Coetzee as one of the backups.
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Retaining Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma as the two spinners for the upcoming season, RCB will be looking to add another spinner as a backup. If they can get an overseas spin all-rounder, it will help them, but they will still look for a backup Indian spinner.
Rahul Chahar, who was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad, could be among the RCB target players list. Although he played only one match last season, Chahar can still be a useful backup spinner to have in the squad. He has taken 75 wickets in the IPL so far.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) released young wicketkeeper-batter Vansh Bedi ahead of the IPL 2026 auction after he missed the entire last season due to an ankle injury. With CSK letting him go, he could now be an option for RCB for the upcoming season.
The big question for fans is who will RCB buy as an Indian backup wicketkeeper, and for that, Vansh Bedi could be among the RCB IPL 2026 auction targets. While leading Purani Dilli 6 in the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025, he scored 187 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 187. RCB might consider him as a reliable backup option for their main wicketkeeper, Jitesh Sharma.
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