IPL 2026, RCB vs LSG: Virat Kohli overcomes injury scare, but named Impact player
Virat Kohli has shaken off an injury concern to be ready to play the game against Lucknow Super Giants at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday, April 15. However, Kohli has been named as the impact substitute for the game.
by Alan Jose John · India TodayIn Short
- Kohli suffered a knock during the MI clash
- RCB bring back Hazlewood instead of Duffy
- LSG name an unchanged side for the clash
Virat Kohli has been named as the impact substitute for the game against the Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday, April 15. Kohli suffered an ankle injury during the win against the Mumbai Indians on Sunday, and didn't come out on the field during the second innings. He did train on the eve of the game and has been given the go-ahead for the clash.
RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first, which gives them the freedom to use Kohli in the second innings. There is also a chance that the Indian star batter can come in towards the fag end of the first innings instead of one of the bowlers. The defending champions also brought back Josh Hazlewood, after he missed the game against MI. Hazlewood was taken apart by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during his return game and rested for the high-profile clash.
RCB have got the in-form Jacob Duffy instead of Josh Hazlewood. Rasikh Salam also seems to be fit enough to play the match after struggling during the win in Mumbai. Lucknow decided to put their faith in the same team that lost to Gujarat Titans with George Linde expected to come in as the substitute.
RCB VS LSG: PLAYING XIS AND IMPACT SUBS
Lucknow Super Giants Playing XI: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing XI: Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam, Josh Hazlewood
Impact subs:
Lucknow Super Giants: Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Mayank Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, George Linde
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Kanishk Chouhan
IS KOHLI A FAN OF IMPACT PLAYER RULE?
Kohli is one of the players who wasn't in favour of the impact player rule when it came into existence during the 2024 season. The RCB batter felt that the rule created an imbalance in the contest between bat and ball.
"I say it how it is. If you see in this IPL, okay, entertainment is [on] one side, but the bowlers are feeling like what they should do [to restrict the batters]," Kohli told Jio Cinema. "I have never experienced anything like it where bowlers think they will concede a four or a six every ball. This is a very high-level of cricket, and in my opinion, it shouldn't be that dominant [in one aspect]. There is a beauty in having an equal battle between bat and ball."
"Not every team has a [Jasprit] Bumrah or a Rashid Khan or a mystery bowler. So what will you do? I am telling you, one extra batter is the reason why I am playing with a 200-plus strike rate in the powerplay. I know there is a batsman coming in at No. 8 as well."
"As a batsman, I can say this rule is good, but the match should be exciting. Only fours and sixes are not exciting in cricket. Exciting is that you can defend 160 as well. So I think a bit of balance has been tipped over," said Kohli.
This is the first time Kohli will be coming on as an impact sub in the game.
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