The Royal Challengers Bengaluru players wore No. 11 jerseys during their warm-up before their first IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, March 28. They did this to pay tribute to the 11 people who sadly lost their lives in a stampede outside the stadium last year.
This tragic incident had created a lot of controversy. After several months of talks with authorities, the Karnataka State Cricket Association was allowed to keep Chinnaswamy Stadium as the venue for five of RCB’s seven home matches. The other two home games will be played at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.
Former RCB CEO Rajesh Menon also shared that 11 permanent seats will be reserved in memory of the fans.
“In memory of the 11 fans who we lost on June 4th. The players will be wearing jersey number 11 for the practice on the game day, on the practice time before the match. All the players will have jersey No.11 on their back; not for the game, but for the practice.
“Apart from that, they (players) will also be wearing black armbands on that day. We are also looking at having 11 permanent seats in Chinnaswamy Stadium forever. This is for the 11 fans who will be with us forever,” he added.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have introduced a new jersey this season. It comes in red, navy blue, and gold colors, and has a modern polo-style collar with a zipper.
RCB Elect to Field First vs SRH in IPL 2026 Opener
Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and decided to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening match of IPL 2026. Explaining his decision, he said (via ESPNcricinfo):
“We’ll bowl first. It is a season opener, so let’s see how the wicket behaves.”
Josh Hazlewood is not available for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their first match. Meanwhile, Pat Cummins, the regular captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad, is expected to miss the first half of the season due to injury. Ishan Kishan will lead the team in the first few matches.
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