With the start of the Indian Premier League 2026 just two days away, teams are already dealing with a growing list of injuries and player unavailability, making it difficult for them to finalise their best possible playing XI.
Nuwan Thushara is set to miss the IPL 2026 season after Sri Lanka Cricket refused to grant him a No Objection Certificate (NOC) due to pending fitness requirements.
The development comes as a major setback for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, especially after Josh Hazlewood will miss some starting games . Given Thushara’s unique bowling action and effectiveness in the death overs. His absence could significantly impact RCB’s bowling combination this season.
RCB had secured Thushara’s services for ₹1.60 crore during the 2025 mega auction, banking on his specialized skill set. The Sri Lankan pacer has played eight IPL matches so far, picking up nine wickets with an economy rate of 9.43, and was part of the Mumbai Indians setup during the 2024 season.
Earlier, Sri Lanka Cricket had made it clear that players must clear mandatory fitness tests to obtain NOCs for IPL 2026. In line with this, players like Wanindu Hasaranga (LSG) and Matheesha Pathirana (KKR), who have applied for NOCs, are yet to undergo their physical performance tests.
Without Thushara, RCB lose not just a frontline pacer but also control in the death overs and reliability in crucial phases of the game, qualities that are difficult to replace. The responsibility will now fall on experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, along with overseas options like Jacob Duffy, to lead the pace attack in the early stages of the tournament.
RCB Squad:Rajat Patidar (c), Tim David, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Thushara, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh, Vicky Ostwal, Satvik Deswal.
RCB may now look to bring in a replacement or rethink their pace strategy ahead of the season.