Star Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has been dropped from RCB’s playing XI for their IPL 2026 match against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, April 12. In his place, New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy is back in RCB’s playing XI. Duffy was benched by RCB for Hazlewood in their third IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals on Friday, April 10, but the move backfired as the Australian conceded 44 runs in his quota of four overs and picked up two wickets.
“Just one change: Duffy comes in place of Hazlewood,” RCB skipper Rajat Patidar said during the toss.
Duffy, who was signed by RCB for Rs 2 crore in the IPL 2026 auction, played the first two matches for the Bengaluru-based franchise and picked up 5 wickets. He finished with figures of 3 for 22 in four overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru on March 28. And in RCB’s second match against Chennai Super Kings, he accounted for the dismissal of two batters for 58 runs in four overs.
Apart from Hazlewood, uncapped Indian fast bowler Abhinandan Singh has also been dropped from RCB for Sunday’s match in Mumbai against Mumbai Indians. Abhinandan conceded 54 runs in three overs against Rajasthan Royals on April 10 and failed to take even one wicket. In his place, Suyash Sharma is included in the starting XI. Madhya Pradesh’s fast bowler Mangesh Yadav, Rasikh Salam Dar, Venkatesh Iyer and Swapnil Singh are part of RCB’s impact players list along with England’s Jacob Bethell.
