With 6 wins and 7 losses last year, SRH finished sixth in the points table. They are a team that relies heavily on their batting, somehow it misfired, and the results showed. Now, come their opening IPL 2026 match vs RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, they would like to make major amends.
The team is with regular skipper Pat Cummins for now, with Ishan Kishan named as the stand-in skipper. In the Aussies’ absence, the biggest task that lies ahead of them, especially at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is, to pick a bunch, that can not only score big, but also restrict the run flow.
InsideSport takes a look at the SRH predicted XI vs RCB.
Top 3 remains same
Without an iota of doubt, SRH’s top three remains the same from last year, where Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head open the innings, while Ishan comes in at no 3. Head wasn’t at his best in 2025, yet managed to score 374 runs in 13 matches at an average of 31. Abhishek Sharma scored 439, including a 141 as well.
Ishan had scored 354, which had a ton in their opening match; so this is going to be a deadly combination for them.
Power-hitters don’t stop for SRH
The men to follow would be – Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Liam Livingstone. The SA batter was mighty good last year, where he scored 487 runs; Reddy chipped in with 182, while Liam Livingstone, who is coming from RCB, had a poor season with only 112 runs. He averages only 16, but is a threatening prospect for sure.
Brydon Carse needed with no Cummins around
Carse has 58 wickets in 88 T20s till now, and can bat a bit too, lower down the order. He might not be as effective an all-rounder as Cummins, but is the only replaceable option that the team seems to have. It is believed that SRH captain will be fit to play sometime in April.
Lot depends on Indian bowlers
Zeeshan Ansari was poor last year with only 6 wickets in 10 matches, and an economy of 9.84, but he seems to possess the skill to do well for his team. The management could also be tempted to try out Harsh Dubey, who finished as the leading wicket-taker in Ranji last year. As for pacers, Shivam Mavi is the most likely to start.
Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat are the other pace options.
SRH predicted XI vs RCB
Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klassen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Brydon Carse, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi.
