IPL 2026: Is Virat Kohli playing in RCB vs DC Match 26?

Published - 18 Apr 2026, 14:57 IST | Updated - 18 Apr 2026, 15:37 IST

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are taking on the Delhi Capitals (SRH) in Match 26 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, April 18 in an afternoon fixture.

RCB have come into the season as defending champions and have managed to maintain a similar vein of form. With four wins in five and three out of three wins at home, they come into this tournament as one of the more dominant teams in the league this year.

The Capitals, on the other hand, are coming to a hostile away venue on the back of two losses after two dominant wins to start their campaign. They will be hoping that the six-day break after their last game would have given them enough time to put the lean run behind them.

Axar Patel, captain of Delhi Capitals, won the toss and chose to bowl first. He spoke of the surface being slightly slower due to the day game, but with the ground being the Chinnaswamy Stadium, it offers the option to bowl first as well. Rajat Patidar, captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, stated that he was happy to bat first since it was a day game.

Yes, Virat Kohli is playing against the Delhi Capitals. Kohli came in as an impact player in the game against Lucknow Super Giants and was unable to take the field due to an ankle issue. While it is yet to be seen whether Kohli will take the field, he will be opening the batting for the defending champions. Both teams are unchanged from their previous fixture.

"We will bowl first. The wicket looks nice and hard. It could be slow in the day but it is a chasing ground and we want to chase it. Same XI today. We lost a couple of games so it was good to get a longer break. The team came together and will restart the momentum. We plan looking at the opposition but we want to go with our strengths and follow the plans. Let's see how it goes."

"Yeah, I am pretty much happy. We were planning to bat first today, a day game and looks a good surface. Looking to put a good total on the board and put them under pressure. We have this jersey to show our commitment to sustainability and encourage everyone to make green choices for the planet. No, we are playing with the same side. There was a lot of planning behind it and as we know this year, we have a final at Chinnaswammy and we have to win all the home matches.

KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (capt), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar.

Impact Players: Vipraj Nigam, Ashutosh Sharma, Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Nitish Rana

Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood.

Impact Players: Rasikh Salam, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Venkatesh Iyer