Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has as soon as once more skilled damage troubles and one other worrying second even earlier than the beginning of the upcoming IPL 2026 season. RCB’s two key stars Venkatesh Iyer and Rajat Patidar have been in motion in Madhya Pradesh’s ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 match in opposition to Jharkhand on January 6 in Ahmedabad.
RCB’s damage scare: Venkatesh Iyer retires as a result of damage throughout Rajat Patidar’s comeback match
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) might be dealt a possible blow forward of IPL 2026 after star all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer suffered an damage scare in Madhya Pradesh’s Vijay Hazare Trophy match in opposition to Jharkhand.
RCB suffered an damage scare on the identical day that captain Rajat Patidar made his long-awaited return to aggressive cricket on Tuesday.
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Venkatesh Iyer damage replace: Early troubles increase warning
The day began with Madhya Pradesh captain Venkatesh Iyer leaving RCB followers in worry as he was compelled to depart injured shortly after taking his flip to bat at quantity 5. Iyer conceded only one run off 5 balls earlier than being compelled to depart the sector as a result of discomfort, elevating recent considerations about RCB’s continued damage curse forward of the upcoming IPL 2026.
Nonetheless, though Iyer confirmed his mettle by returning to the bat within the second half of the innings, he was clearly not at his greatest. The star all-rounder might solely add eight runs in 9 deliveries earlier than being bowled out by Shubman Singh. His quick keep didn’t bode nicely for each RCB and Madhya Pradesh.
Venky Iyer (C) left injured for 1(5) in MP vs. Jharkhand match.
RCB’s damage curse continues 🤕 pic.twitter.com/oaFhDNC5Dh
— RCB Xtra (@Rcb_Xtra) January 6, 2026
No fireworks for Rajat Patidar’s comeback
In the meantime, Rajat Patidar’s long-awaited return to aggressive cricket additionally didn’t create fireworks. The Madhya Pradesh batsman scored 29 runs off 37 balls however couldn’t get a begin. He was clear bowled by Anukul Roy and couldn’t make a powerful comeback.
RCB in damage disaster mode. Patidar is the one salvation
Royal Challengers Bangalore are dealing with main damage considerations forward of IPL 2026. This comes as key gamers Phil Salt (again damage), Tim David (Grade 2 hamstring pressure) and Josh Hazlewood (hamstring pressure and Achilles tendon problem) are recovering from accidents.
His availability for subsequent season is beneath a cloud and now, with one other setback for Venkatesh Iyer, RCB is in deep trouble. Moreover, Yash Dayal is more likely to miss the subsequent season as he’s battling authorized points and has ongoing sexual exploitation and rape instances within the Allahabad Excessive Court docket and Jaipur’s Posco Court docket.
Additionally Learn: Devdutt Padikkal does the unthinkable and turns into the highest batsman within the historical past of the Vijay Hazare Trophy…
The one good factor was that Patidar recovered from his ankle damage and returned to the sport. Nonetheless, the delay in Patidar’s look within the Vijay Hazare Trophy was not as a result of a recent damage.
The RCB captain was suggested to relaxation as a part of a sluggish and deliberate workload plan as he had simply recovered from a left ankle downside forward of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He’s at the moment regularly increase his energy for the IPL 2026 season.
He was not injured and was solely suggested to relaxation as he had simply recovered from an issue together with his left ankle earlier than the SMAT. Workload slowly builds up in the direction of IPL.
— Shashank Kishore (@captainshanky) January 6, 2026
As MP stumbles to 277, decrease orders come to the rescue.
Madhya Pradesh have been ultimately bowled out for 277 in opposition to Jharkhand. Rescue operations have been carried out from the center and decrease ranks. Akshat Raghuwanshi, the pinch hitter at No. 6, performed a significant knockout with 64 off 61 balls, whereas No. 8 Shivan Kumar, after failures on the prime and middle-order, pushed his crew to victory with an aggressive 67 runs.
Aside from Akshat and Shivan, Shubham Sharma was the one one from the lineup who contributed 34 factors. For Jharkhand, Utkarsh Singh was an impressive bowler with a formidable 3/30 in seven overs, whereas Bal Krishna and Sushant Mishra took two wickets every in opposition to Madhya Pradesh.
