The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are looking like a settled unit. Phil Salt has started to fire after a couple of underwhelming performances. Krunal Pandya pulled out his bag of tricks after going wicketless in the opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 and has taken at least one wicket in every game since.
Devdutt Padikkal is in fine form, with his backup, Venkatesh Iyer, playing a fine cameo when needed. Rajat Patidar is the best middle-order batter in the tournament. Tim David has exploded twice already. Virat Kohli continues to be consistent. So far, his lowest score has been 28.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains reliable as ever. Rasikh Salam Dar impressed against the Mumbai Indians. Suyash Sharma looks better than last season. The only issue that RCB has at the moment is Josh Hazlewood.
Will Hazlewood play RCB vs LSG match?
The tall Australian fast bowler, who hadn’t played a competitive match since November, featured against the Rajasthan Royals on April 12. Although Vaibhav Suryavanshi took him down, Hazlewood still ended up taking 2 wickets in the match and gave RCB a small hope of victory.
However, Hazlewood didn’t feature against the Mumbai Indians on April 12. At the toss, RCB captain Rajat Patidar didn’t specify why the pacer wasn’t playing. Was he injured again? Was he rested to manage his workload, since the turnaround between the two games was just 2 days?
Predicted RCB Playing XI vs LSG
| S. No. | Player | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virat Kohli | Opener |
| 2 | Phil Salt✈️ | Opener |
| 3 | Devdutt Padikkal | Top-order batter |
| 4 | Rajat Patidar (c) | Middle-order batter |
| 5 | Tim David✈️ | Middle-order batter |
| 6 | Jitesh Sharma (wk) | Wicketkeeper/Finisher |
| 7 | Romario Shepherd✈️ | Batting all-rounder/ Finisher |
| 8 | Krunal Pandya | Bowling all-rounder |
| 9 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | Right-arm fast bowler |
| 10 | Jacob Duffy✈️ | Right-arm fast bowler |
| 11 | Rasikh Salam Dar | Right-arm fast bowler |
| Impact Sub | Suyash Sharma | Leg spinner |
Right now, we don’t know where Hazlewood will play against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 15 in Bengaluru. It might be safe to assume that Jacob Duffy will continue to play. Although the New Zealander has been expensive, he’s picked up 6 wickets in 3 matches for RCB.
He’s doing a fine job in the powerplay but isn’t an all-phase bowler like Hazlewood. However, considering RCB are acing it in every other department, they can do well at home against LSG, who lost their last game against the Gujarat Titans.
