RCB's Josh Hazlewood makes his first appearance in IPL 2026
What's the story
Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and opted to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Match 16 of the 2026 Indian Premier League at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. The match will be a full 20-over game despite rain interruptions earlier. Rajasthan Royals have made one change with Brijesh Sharma replacing Tushar Deshpande in their playing XI. Meanwhile, RCB have welcomed back Josh Hazlewood after his two-match injury layoff, replacing Jacob Duffy.
Statement
Patidar welcomes Hazlewood's return
RR skipper Riyan Parag said the pitch looked dry but recent rains could affect it early on. He said, "It was supposed to be a dry wicket, but it has been raining for the last couple of days and rained a bit today as well." RCB captain Rajat Patidar welcomed Hazlewood's return, saying his experience will boost their confidence.
Stats
Hazlewood has been sensational in IPL
Notably, Hazlewood has been phenomenal in the tourney, having claimed 57 wickets across 39 IPL innings at 20.98 (ER: 8.27). He also played an instrumental role in powering RCB to their maiden IPL trophy last season, taking 22 wickets from 12 matches at 17.54. Notably, Duffy did well in Hazlewood's absence, taking five wickets in two games. This includes a Player-of-the-Match-winning 3/22 in the season opener.
RCB
RCB's playing XI for the match
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood Suyash Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, and Venkatesh Iyer are the team's Impact Subs.
RR
RR's XI for the game
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is set to be their Impact Player when RR will bat. Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Shubham Dubey, and Tushar Deshpande are the other Impact subs.