Fast bowling injuries a symptom of congested schedule - Mo Bobat

The build up to IPL 2026 has been affected by a wave of fast-bowling injuries, with several first-choice quicks either ruled out or set to miss the tournament's opening phase. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will themselves be without pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood, who continues to undergo a 'return to play' programme with Cricket Australia after an injury-hit home summer.

Alongside Hazlewood, fellow Australian quicks Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are also expected to miss the early part of the season, while Nathan Ellis has been ruled out entirely. RCB's Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, believes the situation reflects the strain of an increasingly packed cricket calendar.

"I guess it's probably a symptom of a congested cricket schedule, isn't it?," he said at a press conference on Tuesday (March 24). "Any of us who follow cricket know how challenging that is. On a domestic level, but also on an international level. So it's not ideal.

"It's not ideal for any of the teams that are losing players at this late stage because it impacts your planning. So I sympathise and empathise with any of the teams going through that. I mean, it's not easy. I think from our perspective, we just try and control it.

"We can only do so much. We try and communicate really closely with the international building bodies. Our medical team are excellent. They're always communicating with players and other building body medical teams. Myself and Andy [Flower, Head coach] have a pretty good relationship with most bodies, head coaches or directors. So you just try and keep those lines of communication open so that there's trust.

"Josh Hazlewood is a really good example. If we didn't have the relationships that we had with Cricket Australia last year, we might not have even come back to resume the way we did. So I've always had the mindset that you just try and control the controllables as much as you can. Try and have a really good relationship and open dialogue. But yeah, it is difficult and I'm sure it's challenging for those teams that have lost players. I don't have a solution in mind because it's a congested schedule," Bobat added.

Meanwhile, Bobat played down concerns around Phil Salt's form heading into the title defence. Salt was instrumental in RCB's triumph last season, scoring 403 runs at a strike rate of 175.98 during a phase that also saw him rise to No. 2 in the ICC T20I rankings.

However, he endured a lean run in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, managing 130 runs in eight innings with just one fifty. RCB also have the option of turning to his compatriot Jacob Bethell, who impressed with 280 runs in the World Cup, including a standout 105 in the semifinal against India at the Wankhede Stadium.

"Someone like Phil Salt is still ranked among the top two or three T20 batters [No. 4] in the world," Bobat said. "He also really enjoys being with RCB. He enjoys the franchise. He enjoys his partnership with Virat [Kohli]. He works very well with the likes of Andy and DK [Dinesh Karthik]. So, they're doing some really good work right now.

"And I'm pretty sure we'll see at the start of the season Phil Salt doing his thing. You know, I'm looking forward to watching him and Virat walk out to bat like they do. A couple of gladiators walking out, which is always exciting. And they'll be trying to put the opposition under pressure. We've got a lot of confidence in our team. In particular, with your question, we do have confidence in Phil Salt."

RCB to honour fans lost in stampede with 'No. 11' tribute

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will pay tribute to fans who lost their lives in the stampede during the team's victory celebrations on June 4, 2025. Players will wear jersey number 11 during warm-ups ahead of their first home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad and don black armbands during the match. "We are also looking at having 11 permanent seats empty in Chinnaswamy Stadium forever," said CEO Rajesh Menon.