Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made a surprising move in their playing combination for the IPL 2026 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. For the crucial match of the edition, the defending champions handed Abhinandan Singh his Indian Premier League debut match.
Abhinandan Singh is not among the emerging cricketers who often come on the new flashes. About four years ago, the Uttar Pradesh-born pacer was playing tennis-ball cricket, and now, in the most illustrious franchise league across the globe, on the field for the defending champions RCB.
Abhinandan Singh is a medium pacer born in Uttar Pradesh. The 28-year-old pacer caught the attention during the UP T20 League for his well-controlled bowling. The emerging pacer is capable of swinging the white ball in both ways. Especially Abhinandan’s outswings can be brutal at times.
RCB took the gable, better to say, was forced to take the gable because of the injury concerns. The team’s prime bowler, Josh Hazelwood, is expected to miss the initial few matches of the IPL 2026 campaign, and another pacer, Yash Dayal, has been ruled out of the entire season, citing personal causes. In the absence of two crucial bowlers, Bengaluru had the opportunity to try something new.
Abhinandan troubled Virat Kohli twice
Before receiving the IPL debut cap, Abhinandan Singh played a couple of practice matches for the team. According to media reports, in both intra-squad games, the emerging seamer took Virat Kohli’s wicket, not once, but twice. After the impressive bowling efforts in those matches, Singh came into contention to play the opening match of the 2026 Indian Premier League.
With Abhinandan Singh in the playing XI, the bowling combination of the IPL 2025 winners looks exciting on paper. In the absence of Hazelwood, Jacob Duffy was named for the combination against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Indian experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also in the line-up. West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd is also there to do the pace bowling duties. For the spin bowling part, the onus is on Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and decided to field first. The pitch in Bengaluru has something for the pacers with the new ball.
“We'll bowl first. There are a lot of good players in the side, everyone is fit, and I'm looking forward to this game. We'll try our best to put a second star on the jersey," RCB skipper Rajat Patidar said after winning the crucial toss.
Jacob Duffy was on fire for RCB vs SRH
Jacob Duffy, who bowled brilliantly for the New Zealand cricket team in the 2026 T20 World Cup, continued the same form with RCB. In the four-over spell, the 31-year-old pacer took 3 wickets for an economy rate of 5.5. In his second over of the off spell, he dismissed Abhishek Sharma with a scrambled seam delivery.
Sharma departed for only 7 off 8. His opening partner, Travis Head, also followed his footprints soon after scoring 11 off 9. Again, a scrambled seam, this time slower than the batter expected, did the job for Duffy and RCB. Nitish Kumar Reddy got to score only 1 run before falling short against the pacer. Rajat Patidar quickly utilised the 4-over quota of Duffy to maintain the pressure on the opposite side.
Read More: RCB vs SRH Impact Players Today: Toss Report, Playing XIs, Latest Updates IPL 2026 Match 1
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