Multiple RCB stars featured in India's domestic T20 tournament.
The recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025 operated as a crucial platform for the domestic players to showcase their skillsets to advance to the next stage of their respective goals. While some of them utilised the stage to attract the Indian Premier League franchises’ attention before the IPL 2026 auction, others levelled up their game to knock the doors of an Indian team call-up.
Let’s see how the players of the reigning IPL champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), fared in the SMAT 2025 as they gear up for the title defense in the IPL 2026.
RCB youngster Devdutt Padikkal continued his fine form for Karnataka, scoring 309 runs in six fixtures, striking at a fierce rate of 167.02. His heroics also included an unbeaten 102 against Tamil Nadu as well as two fifty-plus knocks.
But the IPL 2025-winning skipper, Rajat Patidar, failed to put up a show with the willow. Though he led Madhya Pradesh to the Super League stage of India’s domestic 20-over tournament, the 32-year-old managed only 113 runs in eight matches, including two single-digit scores and a duck.
However, his teammate Venkatesh Iyer, had an average outing in the SMAT 2025. The new recruit of the Bengaluru outfit contributed 211 runs and scalped six wickets in 10 appearances for Madhya Pradesh.
On the other hand, the RCB wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma played two blistering cameos for Baroda before joining the Indian squad for the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. He notched up 90 runs in six matches at a fierce strike rate of 150.00.
The leg-spinner Suyash Sharma was at peak of the RCB bowlers in the T20 event, bagging 11 scalps in seven matches for Delhi, at an impressive economy of 7.11. Veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar also had a decent outing for Uttar Pradesh, snaring eight wickets in seven fixtures at an economy rate of 7.00.
The RCB all-rounder Swapnil Singh contributed with both of his skills for Tripura, scalping 10 wickets and scoring 92 runs in seven matches. Vicky Ostwal also snared seven scalps and scored 66 runs for Maharashtra. But Baroda captain Krunal Pandya could not deliver an impactful performance. He managed only 63 runs and three wickets in six fixtures of the SMAT 2025.
Another Baroda player Rasikh Salam Dar, whom the franchise has retained for a whopping INR 6 crore, also endured an average outing in the tournament, with only five scalps in six fixtures. But the side’s newly acquired youngster Mangesh Yadav bagged three wickets in his limited two-match appearance for Madhya Pradesh. He also played a quickfire 28-run knock off 12 balls facing Punjab.
While several star RCB players participated in the SMAT 2025-26, some of them did not feature in the domestic T20 event due to respective reasons. The list includes former skipper Virat Kohli, who has already called it a day in the shortest format of the game, alongside Abhinandan Singh, Yash Dayal, and Satvik Deswal.
Two of their young prodigies, Vihaan Malhotra and Kanishk Chouhan, are currently representing India in the Under-19 Asia Cup, and did not play in the SMAT 2025.
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Here’s a full list of Royal Challengers Bengaluru players in SMAT 2025-26.
| Player | Matches | Runs | Average | SR | 6s | 100s | 50s |
| Devdutt Padikkal | 6 | 309 | 61.80 | 167.02 | 12 | 1 | 2 |
| Rajat Patidar | 8 | 113 | 16.14 | 136.14 | 4 | – | – |
| Venkatesh Iyer | 10 | 211 | 26.37 | 119.20 | 7 | – | 2 |
| Jitesh Sharma | 6 | 90 | 45.00 | 150.00 | 6 | – | – |
| Krunal Pandya | 6 | 63 | 12.60 | 95.45 | 3 | – | – |
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy | Best |
| Suyash Sharma | 7 | 11 | 17.45 | 7.11 | 3/20 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 7 | 8 | 19.25 | 7.00 | 3/23 |
| Venkatesh Iyer | 10 | 6 | 26.17 | 8.26 | 3/17 |
| Krunal Pandya | 6 | 3 | 62.50 | 8.92 | 1/25 |
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