The auction will take place on December 16.
The reigning champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), have retained their core ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. This means that the team will enter the bidding hall, and the RCB auction priority will revolve around the low purse of INR 16.40 crore.
With only six slots to fill in the IPL 2026 auction, a huge aspect of the RCB targets would be to acquire a domestic backup wicketkeeper-batter for their swashbuckling gloveman Jitesh Sharma. The 32-year-old had a blazing debut season for the franchise in 2025, including multiple match-winning performances, striking at a fiery rate of 176.35.
Let’s look at a few rising domestic stars who could join the franchise for the IPL 2026 as a backup plan for Jitesh.
The 23-year-old has had a smashing outing in the Delhi Premier League (DPL), after going unsold in the last auction. He held the record for the second-highest strike rate of DPL 2025 and notched up 339 runs in 10 matches of the league.
Dahiya has also put up 76 runs in only two innings of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025. His latest batting blitz came against Karnataka as the batter amassed an unbeaten 53 off just 19 balls, at an astonishing strike rate of 278.94. These successive noteworthy shows might include him in the RCB auction priority.
Reportedly, a few franchises invited the Rajasthan youngster for trials ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. The 19-year-old might potentially be on the RCB auction priority list.
Previously, Kartik was part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad as a reserve player in the last edition. However, after putting up a stunning show in the Ranji Trophy 2025, including two tons, he has struggled to get going in the latest SMAT fixtures.
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Tushar Raheja is another opener who could feature in the RCB targets chart before entering the bidding hall. The southpaw has had a great domestic season so far, headlined by his highest run tally in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2025.
Raheja piled up 488 runs in nine fixtures at a pulsating strike rate of 185.55. Currently, the wicketkeeper-batter is also the second-highest run-getter for Tamil Nadu in the SMAT 2025, with 150 runs in six matches, striking at 168.53.
After an injury-struck season with CSK, the 22-year-old might be another RCB auction priority to rope in as Jitesh’s replacement. Vansh Bedi led the Purani Dilli 6 in the DPL 2025 and scored 187 runs in nine matches at a blistering strike rate of 187.
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