IPL 2026: Who is Abhinandan Singh? Meet the RCB newcomer who dismissed Virat Kohli twice | Cricket News –

Abhinandan Singh has emerged as a new name in the Indian Super League after making his debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening match of the 2026 season against Sunrise Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.The right-arm pacer from Uttar Pradesh has quickly risen in the game. Four years ago, he was playing cricket and tennis. He is now part of the RCB squad playing in one of the biggest matches of the season. The medium-pace bowler proved impressive in the Uttar Pradesh T20 League as he took 15 wickets in 11 matches while representing Lucknow Falcons.

Abhinandan had already impressed within the RCB pre-season camp. He dismissed Virat Kohli in both the intrasquad practice matches, leaving him in contention for a place in the starting XI.

RCB’s pace attack has been affected by multiple absences. Josh Hazlewood is injured, while Yash Dayal has been ruled out for the season. Nuwan Thashara is not available due to not having a NOC. This opened up a place alongside top bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jacob Duffy.The match also saw the return of cricket to the field after a stampede during RCB’s title celebrations last year resulted in 11 deaths. The players wore black armbands as a sign of respect and trained in Center No. 1.

11 pre-match shirtsAbhinandan’s selection comes at a time when the team needed a reliable option in their pace unit. His debut marks the beginning of his journey at the IPL level.Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (W), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma.

sunrise hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaassen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Malinga.