As the excitement builds for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season starting March 28, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) head coach Andy Flower has shared an update on the availability of star bowler Josh Hazlewood for the opening match. Flower praised Hazlewood’s recent efforts to regain fitness, noting, “He arrived yesterday looking in great shape. I even remarked that he seems younger than I remember, which shows he has made the most of his time off and worked diligently to reach full fitness. It’s fantastic to have him with us, both in the dressing room and during our meetings.”
However, Flower confirmed that Hazlewood will not be participating in the first match, as the team will be closely monitoring his fitness. “He won’t be ready for tomorrow since he just landed, but we’re eager to see him make his debut in the IPL soon,” he added.
The tournament’s opening match will see RCB face off against the defending champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
In other news, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Secretary Santosh Menon announced that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will host five of RCB’s IPL 2026 home games, along with a playoff match and the tournament final. The remaining two home fixtures for RCB will take place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
**IPL 2026 Full Squads:**
**Royal Challengers Bengaluru:** Virat Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Phil Salt (WK), Rajat Patidar (C), Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Tim David, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Vicky Ostwal, Mangesh Yadav, Suyash Sharma, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal.
**Sunrisers Hyderabad:** Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Ishan Kishan (WK), Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Zeeshan Ansari, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Jack Edwards, Harsh Dubey, Salil Arora (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Smaran Ravichandran, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Aniket Verma, Shivang Kumar, Krains Bhaveshbhai Fuletra, Omkar Tarmale.
(With ANI Inputs)