Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have released English all-rounder Liam Livingstone before the mini auction of the 19th edition of the cash-rich league. The franchise brought the power-hitter for Rs 8.75 crore, where he managed to score only 112 runs at an average of just 16 and scalped two wickets in the 10 matches he played in the IPL 2025.
Despite Livingstone going out, RCB retained in-form Australian Tim David, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, the powerful Romario Shepherd, the emerging Jacob Bethell, and the ever-reliable Krunal Pandya as middle-order options.
RCB's retained players
Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Krunal Pandya, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Devdutt Padikkal, Nuwan Thushara, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Yash Dayal, Abhinandan Singh, Rasikh Dar.
RCB's released players
Swastik Chikara, Mayank Agarwal, Tim Seifert, Liam Livingstone, Manoj Bhandage, Lungi Ngidi, Blessing Muzarabani, Mohit Rathee.
Purse remaining
Rs. 16.40 crore
How did RCB fare last year?
IPL 2025 proved to be the season where RCB finally ended the 18-year wait for their maiden IPL title. They finished second on the standings with 18 points from 14 games and qualified for the playoffs. They first defeated the Punjab Kings in the first qualifier to reach the final and went on to defeat them again in the final to win the tournament for the first time ever. It remains to be seen if they will be able to successfully defend the title in the upcoming season.