Jacob Duffy was dropped from RCB's playing eleven against RR in the IPL 2026 Match 16 at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Friday, April 10. RCB captain Rajat Patidar confirmed Duffy's exclusion during the toss. The star Australian bowler Josh Hazlewood replaced the Kiwi speedster in RCB's XI against RR.
Hazlewood missed the opening two matches due to injury recovery and was expected to return to playing eleven today. However, RCB fans were hoping to see both Hazlewood and Duffy bowling together, especially after the latter's performances with the new balls.
Jacob Duffy remains the leading wicket-taker for RCB with five wickets in two innings this season. He was smashed for 58 runs against Chennai Super Kings in the last game, and that might have played a role in his exclusion from the starting eleven today.
Explaining a reason behind Duffy's omission, captain Rjaat Patidar said that Hazlewood's experience is the reason.
"Unfortunately, Jacob Duffy misses out on this game. Josh in the place of Duffy. Duffy also bowled brilliantly in the last game. But everyone knows Josh is an experienced player, a specialist. But I think his presence will definitely put us in a good frame of mind, I think," Patidar said at the toss.
RCB vs RCB Playing XIs: Duffy, Deshpande OUT
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals also made a one change to their playing eleven against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Brijesh Sharma returned in place of Tushar Deshpande as Rajasthan opted to bowl first at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
RCB Playing XI vs RR: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood.
RR Playing XI vs RCB: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi.
Also read: RR vs RCB Live Updates
