Dayal won’t be part of RCB in IPL 2026: Bobat

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Yash Dayal will not be a part of the side for IPL 2026, RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat said here on Tuesday.

Bobat added that Dayal, who faces legal issues (sexual assault charges), remains under contract with RCB, and has the support of the franchise as he “goes through his personal situation”.

“Yash will not be joining up with the squad. He is going through a personal situation currently. We’ve been very supportive of Yash to date. We wanted to retain him, and he remains under contract and will continue, in the short term, foreseeable (future) to remain under contract. It has been decided that it is not in his best interest, or the franchise’s best interest, for him to join up with us at this point,” Bobat said in a press conference.

“He obviously retains our support, he remains under contract, and we’ll continue to speak to him as he goes through his personal situation,” Bobat said.

Dayal’s last competitive match was the IPL 2025 final, after which RCB retained him for ₹5 crore.

RCB will continue to wait on fast bowler Josh Hazlewood to regain full fitness. Bobat did not reveal a timeline on Hazlewood’s expected return.

“Josh is currently working through a ‘return-to-play’ programme in Australia. We are liaising very closely with both Josh and Cricket Australia. As soon as he gets to a point where Cricket Australia is happy, he’ll come over,” Bobat said.

Bobat was non-committal on where all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer — a high-profile ₹7 crore signing at the auction — can be slotted in the XI.

“We haven’t selected a team for our first game yet. Our main objective at the auction was to strengthen the squad. We want competition for places. Adding a player of Venky’s quality, experience and calibre is a no-brainer,” Bobat said.