Royal Challengers Bengaluru have 2 IPL titles till 2026. Explore their verified franchise history, title years and dated 2026 squad reference; official IPL 2027 retained and released lists are still pending.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru · IPL franchise profile
IPL trophies and title years
Confirmed title years till 2026; see the cited champions record. This page does not forecast a 2027 result.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: franchise history
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is the Bengaluru-based franchise that has represented the city in the Indian Premier League since the competition’s inaugural season. A Drupal case study about the club’s official digital platform records that the franchise was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the Royal Challenge brand. The team initially competed as Royal Challengers Bangalore, the English city name used in its original identity. In March 2024, the franchise formally adopted Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the RCB Unbox event in Bengaluru, retaining the RCB abbreviation while aligning its name with the city’s official Kannada-derived form.
The men’s side reached its first IPL final in 2009, but Deccan Chargers won that match. It returned to the final in 2011 and lost to Chennai Super Kings, then made a third unsuccessful final appearance in 2016 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Those defeats established a long-running narrative around a prominent franchise that had repeatedly reached the last match without winning the men’s IPL.
That sequence changed in 2025. RCB defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in the final at Ahmedabad, making 2025 the franchise’s first men’s IPL title. The official RCB match account describes the victory as the end of an 18-year wait, while ESPNcricinfo independently records the same result and identifies the earlier 2009, 2011 and 2016 finals. RCB then won the 2026 final against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, chasing 156 to win by five wickets. The IPL’s official report says that this was the club’s second IPL trophy and that it successfully defended the previous year’s title. Therefore, as of 3 October 2026, RCB’s IPL title years are 2025 and 2026, with earlier runner-up finishes in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
The franchise’s recent back-to-back championships mark a clear change from its earlier final defeats, but this profile avoids projecting future results or personnel. It covers the men’s IPL franchise only. The women’s RCB team is a separate WPL side; official RCB material visible by the cutoff includes WPL 2027 retention news, which should not be treated as an announcement of the men’s IPL 2027 squad.
Recent seasons: 2024–2026
- 2024 — RCB sealed qualification for the IPL 2024 playoffs by defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final league match.
- 2025 — RCB beat Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final to win its first IPL title.
- 2026 — RCB defeated Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final, successfully defending its crown and winning a second IPL trophy.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru squad
2026 season reference
2026 season reference: checked against the dated team/league source (2025-12-16; official RCB page explicitly labels this the IPL 2026 Auction and its closing 'Class of 2026' list). This is not a 2027 squad. Only existing matching 4xSports player profiles are linked; player statistics here are not used as source evidence.
- Abhinandan Singh
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Jacob Bethell
- Jacob Duffy
- Jitesh Sharma
- Jordan Cox
- Josh Hazlewood
- Kanishk Chouhan
- Krunal Pandya
- Mangesh Yadav
- Nuwan Thushara
- Phil Salt
- Rajat Patidar
- Rasikh Salam Dar
- Romario Shepherd
- Satwik Desal
- Suyash Sharma
- Swapnil Singh
- Tim David
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Vicky Ostwal
- Vihaan Malhotra
- Virat Kohli
- Yash Dayal
IPL 2027 retained and released players
No complete official 2027 retained or released player list was verified for this franchise as of 3 October 2026. These lists will be updated after official announcements, including the auction period.
Retained
Awaiting verified team or league announcement.
Released
Awaiting verified team or league announcement.
Related Royal Challengers Bengaluru coverage
Latest matching posts on 4xSports, automatically selected by team name while excluding the site’s forecast categories.
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RCB Retained, Released and Trade Players List IPL 2027: Full Retained Squad
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IPL 2027 Retained and Released Players List – Team Wise (With Tables & Current Scenario)
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History and roster sources
- www.iplt20.com/teams/royal-challengers-bengaluru
- www.olympics.com/en/news/indian-premier-league-ipl-winners-list-champions
- new.drupal.org/case-study/royal-challengers-bangalore-rcb
- www.britannica.com/sports/Royal-Challengers-Bengaluru
- sports.ndtv.com/ipl-2024/royal-challengers-bangalore-has-a-new-name-ahead-of-ipl-2024-it-is-5270429
- www.cricinfo.com/story/rcb-to-take-on-pbks-in-ipl-2025-final-1488674
- www.iplt20.com/news/article/tata-ipl-2024-match-68-rcb-vs-csk-match-report
- www.iplt20.com/news/article/tata-ipl-2025-final-rcb-vs-pbks-match-report
- www.iplt20.com/news/article/tata-ipl-2026-final-rcb-v-gt-match-report
- www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/ipl-2026-auction-as-it-happened
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