Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru are heading into their IPL 2026 title defence with not one but two pace bowling concerns — and both involve players who were central to their 2025 triumph.

Hazlewood: Waiting on Cricket Australia

Josh Hazlewood has not played a single competitive match since November, when he suffered a hamstring injury during a Sheffield Shield game. He then missed the entire T20 World Cup 2026, was withdrawn from the Ashes series mid-way, and is now going through a structured return-to-play programme in Australia.

RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat confirmed the situation at a media briefing ahead of the season opener.

“Josh has missed quite a bit of cricket recently with injuries. He’s currently working through a return-to-play programme in Australia. We are liaising with both Josh and Cricket Australia, and our medical teams are collaborating very strongly on a day-to-day basis on his programme.”

“We’ll continue to communicate with them, and as soon as he gets to a point where Cricket Australia are happy, he’ll come over, and we hope to have him with us very soon.”

No return date has been confirmed. The 35-year-old pacer was one of RCB’s most important bowlers in IPL 2025, and his absence for the early weeks could significantly affect how they manage their pace department.

Yash Dayal Also Absent — And This Situation Is Different

Alongside Hazlewood’s injury concern, RCB have confirmed that left-arm pacer Yash Dayal will not be part of the squad for IPL 2026 either — but for personal reasons, not injury. Dayal, who took 13 wickets for RCB in IPL 2025 at an economy rate of 9.59, remains under contract and has not been released by the franchise.

Bobat addressed the topic sensitively.

“Spoke to him earlier today, but decided it’s not in his and the franchise’s best interest to join the squad due to the personal situation he’s dealing with. We’ve been very supportive of Yash to date, and that’s reflected in the fact that we retained him when we had the opportunity to either retain or release players.”

Notably, the IPL’s playing conditions do not explicitly cover a scenario where a player voluntarily opts out of a full season, leaving no straightforward replacement pathway. RCB have confirmed they will not sign a replacement for Dayal.

Who Steps Up in Their Absence

Despite the twin concerns, Bobat maintained that RCB have enough domestic options to cover the gap in their pace attack.

The three names in the frame are:

  • Rasik Salam — known to many fans, a proven domestic pace option who was with the squad last season

  • Abhinandan Singh — featured for RCB in IPL 2025 and has continued to work with the squad

  • Mangesh Yadav — bought for Rs 5.2 crore at the IPL 2026 auction, recommended personally by captain Rajat Patidar, and now the frontrunner for a place in the playing XI

“We have some excellent domestic fast bowlers in our squad. All three of those have had excellent preparatory camps so far. So we’ve kept all our options open,” Bobat said.

RCB open their title defence on March 28 against SunRisers Hyderabad at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium — the same ground where, just last year, they lifted the trophy they now want to defend. Whether Hazlewood makes it back before the crucial middle phase of the tournament will likely determine just how serious their title bid remains.