RCB Strengthens Squad for IPL 2026 Title Defense; Iyer Joins for ₹7 Cr

• Defending champions RCB added 3 capped and 5 uncapped players for IPL 2026, aiming to retain their crown.
• Venkatesh Iyer was their costliest buy at ₹7 crore, joining captain Rajat Patidar's side.
• Other key acquisitions include Mangesh Yadav, Jacob Duffy, Jordan Cox, Kanishk Chouhan, Vihaan Malhotra, Vicky Ostwal, and Satvik Deswal.
• RCB retained 17 players and secured 8 out of 10 bids in the mini-auction with a budget of ₹16.40 crore.
• Proposed Best Playing XI: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (captain), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood.

Why It Matters: RCB bolsters its squad with key all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer to defend its IPL 2026 title.