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{{Short description|Bengaluru based franchise in the Women's Premier League}}
{{About||the men's team|Royal Challengers Bengaluru}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox cricket team
| name = Royal Challengers Bengaluru
| nickname = RCB
| alt_name =
| image = Royal Challengers Bengaluru Logo.svg
| image_size = 160px
| league = [[Women's Premier League (cricket)|Women's Premier League]]
| city = [[Bengaluru]], [[Karnataka]], [[India]]
| colours = {{color box|#FF0000}} {{color box|#0C0C38}}
| coach = [[Malolan Rangarajan]] (2025–present)
| captain = [[Smriti Mandhana]] (2023–present)
| owner = [[Aditya Birla Group]] [[The Times Group]] [[Blackstone Inc.|Blackstone]] (2026–present)
| founded = {{start date and age|2023}}
| title1 = [[Women's Premier League (cricket)|WPL]]
| title1wins = 2 ([[2024 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2024]], [[2026 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2026]])
| website = {{URL|https://royalchallengers.com/|Website}}
| h_pattern_la =
| h_pattern_b = _rcb25
| h_pattern_ra =
| h_pattern_pants =
| h_leftarm = 0C0C38
| h_body = 191970
| h_rightarm = 0C0C38
| h_pants = FF0000
| h_title = Regular [[Cricket clothing and equipment|kit]]
| ground = [[M. Chinnaswamy Stadium]]
| capacity = 33,800
}}

{{sidebar
| titlestyle = font-size: 120%; background-color: red; color: gold; border: 1px solid #0C0C38
| title = [[Royal Challengers Bengaluru|Royal Challengers Bengaluru]]
| contentstyle = padding-top:0.5em;
| content1 = {{aligned table|cols=2|fullwidth=y
| [[File:Cricket pictogram.svg|30px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:Cricket pictogram.svg|30px|class=skin-invert]]
| Women's Team
| [[Royal Challengers Bengaluru|Men's Team]]
}}}}

'''Royal Challengers Bengaluru''', formerly '''Royal Challengers Bangalore''', commonly known as '''RCB''', is an Indian professional franchise cricket team based in [[Bengaluru]], [[Karnataka]] that competes in the [[Women's Premier League (cricket)|Women's Premier League]]. It is owned by [[Aditya Birla Group]], the [[The Times Group]] and [[Blackstone Inc.|Blackstone]]. [[Malolan Rangarajan]] is the coach and [[Smriti Mandhana]] is the captain. RCB won the [[2024 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2024 season]], bringing home the first trophy for the franchise, and followed it up by winning their second WPL title during the [[2026 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2026 season]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=On This Day: Royal Challengers Bengaluru win WPL, their first-ever title, defeat Delhi Capitals in 2024 final |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/royal-challengers-bengaluru-2024-wpl-title-win-on-this-day-9891208/ |work=The Indian Express |date=17 March 2025 |access-date=2 April 2025}}</ref> The team is the most popular and followed cricket franchise on [[Instagram]] with more than 23 million followers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rathod |first=Karan Singh |date=31 March 2025 |title=Royal Challengers Bengaluru Overtake Chennai Super Kings, Become Most-Followed Team On Instagram |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/cricket/royal-challengers-bengaluru-overtake-chennai-super-kings-become-most-followed-team-on-instagram-article-151323827 |work=Times Now |access-date=2 April 2025}}</ref>

==History==
In October 2022, the [[Board of Control for Cricket in India|BCCI]] announced its intentions to hold a five-team women's franchise cricket tournament in March 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/wipl-2023-inaugural-womens-ipl-likely-to-be-played-from-march-3-to-26-1348845 |title=Inaugural Women's IPL likely to be played from March 3 to 26 |date=9 December 2022 |access-date=16 February 2023 |work=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref> The tournament was named the [[Women's Premier League (cricket)|Women's Premier League]] in January 2023, with investors buying the rights to franchises through a closed bidding process during the same month.<ref name="rights">{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/mumbai-indians-delhi-capitals-royal-challengers-bangalore-adani-group-capri-global-to-own-womens-ipl-teams-1355823 |title=Owners of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, RCB win bids to own Women's Premier League teams |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |date=25 January 2023 |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref> [[Diageo]], the owners of [[Royal Challengers Bangalore]] in the [[Indian Premier League]], bought the rights to one of the franchises.<ref name="rights"/>

In February 2023, [[Ben Sawyer]] was announced as head coach of the team.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/rcb-name-australian-ben-sawyer-as-head-coach-for-wpl-8446868/ |title=RCB name Australian Ben Sawyer as head coach for WPL |publisher=The Indian Express |date=15 February 2023 |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref> The inaugural player auction for the WPL was held on 13 February 2023,
Royal Challengers Bangalore signing 18 players for their squad.<ref name="auction">{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/live-blog/live-blog-2023-wpl-auction-1358703 |title=Bid-by-bid updates - 2023 WPL auction |work=ESPNcricinfo |date=13 February 2023 |access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref> On 18 February 2023, [[Smriti Mandhana]] was announced as the team's captain. The team finished fourth in the group stage at the [[2023 Women's Premier League (cricket)|inaugural tournament]].<ref name="23table">{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/women-s-premier-league-2022-23-1348825/points-table-standings |title=Women's Premier League 2022/23 - Table |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=27 March 2023}}</ref>

In September 2023, [[Luke Williams (cricketer)|Luke Williams]] was announced as the head coach for the [[2024 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2024 season]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/rcb-appoints-big-bash-winner-luke-williams-as-head-coach-for-wpl |title=RCB appoints Big Bash winner Luke Williams as head coach for WPL |publisher=Royal Challengers Bangalore
|date=30 September 2023|access-date=17 March 2024}}</ref> The team won three of their five Bangalore-leg matches, and then they went on to win one match out of their next three matches. Ending the league stage with four wins, the team qualified for the playoffs.

In the [[2024 Women's Premier League (cricket)#Eliminator|eliminator]], the team defeated the defending champions — [[Mumbai Indians (WPL)|Mumbai Indians]], to advance into the final. In the final, they defeated [[Delhi Capitals (WPL)|Delhi Capitals]] to win the title, this was the franchise's maiden title across both men's and women's leagues. Royal Challengers Bangalore's [[Ellyse Perry]] and [[Shreyanka Patil]] won the orange cap and purple cap respectively.

On 5 February 2026, [[Royal Challengers Bangalore (WPL)|Royal Challengers Bangalore]] defeated the [[Delhi Capitals (WPL)|Delhi Capitals]] in a thrilling final to secure the WPL 2026 title. Chasing a target of 204, RCB hunted it down in 19.4 overs with 6 wickets in hand to clinch their second championship in three years.<ref>{{cite web |title=RCB Beat DC in Thrilling Final to Win WPL 2026 Title |url=https://www.khelwire.com/articles/rcb-beat-dc-in-thrilling-final-to-win-wpl-2026-title |website=KhelWire |date=5 February 2026 |access-date=5 February 2026}}</ref>

==Team identity==
Kajaria Tiles was the official title sponsor of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the inaugural WPL season in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sportcal.com/sponsorship/ipl-and-wpl-teams-hurry-to-secure-last-minute-deals-rcb-and-mi-active/ |title=IPL and WPL teams hurry to secure last-minute deals, RCB and MI active |date=3 March 2023 |publisher=Sportcal }}</ref> Mia by Tanishq and [[Dream11]] served as principal partners, while [[Puma (brand)|Puma]], Himalaya and Vega were associate partners. Zuno General Insurance was the official insurance partner for the 2023 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hizuno.com/blog/others/zuno-and-rcb-a-truly-fitting-match |title=Zuno and RCB a truly fitting match |publisher=Zuno General Insurance}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/RCBTweets/status/1634496359926763523?lang=en |title=Official Insurance Partner |publisher=RCB-Twitter}}</ref>

===Sponsorship===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year
! Kit manufacturer
! Front sponsor
! Back sponsor
|-
| 2023
| rowspan="4"|[[Puma SE|Puma]]
| rowspan="4"|Kajaria
| rowspan="2"|[[Tanishq|Mia]]
|-
| 2024
|-
| 2025
| [[Alliance University]]
|-
| 2026
| [[Kalyan Jewellers]]
|}

==Kit evolution==
The official colours of Royal Challengers Bengaluru are red, black and gold.

{| style="margin:1em auto;"
|{{Cricket uniform
| pattern_la =
| pattern_b = _rcb25
| pattern_ra =
| pattern_pants =
| leftarm = 0c0c38ff
| body = 191970
| rightarm = 0c0c38ff
| pants = FF0000
| title = {{nowrap|2023–present}}
}}
|}

==Squad==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
!#
!Role
!Nationality
!Player
|-
|18
|Batter
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Smriti Mandhana]] ([[Captain|C]])
|-
|13
|Batter
|{{crw|AUS}}
|[[Georgia Voll]]
|-
|56
|All-rounder
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Arundhati Reddy]]
|-
|42
|All-rounder
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Dayalan Hemalatha]]
|-
|99
|All-rounder
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Gautami Naik]]
|-
|29
|All-rounder
|{{crw|AUS}}
|[[Grace Harris]]
|-
|17
|All-rounder
|{{crw|RSA}}
|[[Nadine de Klerk]]
|-
|88
|All-rounder
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Pooja Vastrakar]]
|-
|90
|All-rounder
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Prema Rawat]]
|-
|10
|All-rounder
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Radha Yadav]]
|-
|33
|All-rounder
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Sayali Satghare]]
|-
|21
|All-rounder
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Shreyanka Patil]]
|-
|8
|Bowler
|{{crw|ENG}}
|[[Lauren Bell]]
|-
|44
|Bowler
|{{crw|ENG}}
|[[Linsey Smith]]
|-
|55
|Wicket-keeper
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Prathyoosha Kumar]]
|-
|36
|Wicket-keeper
|{{crw|IND}}
|[[Richa Ghosh]]
|-
|}

==Coaching staff==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Position
! Name
! Ref
|-
| Head Coach
| [[Malolan Rangarajan]]
|
|-
| Assistant Coach
| [[Anya Shrubsole]]
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=RCB appoint Anya Shrubsole as assistant coach for WPL 2026|url=https://royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/rcb-appoint-anya-shrubsole-as-assistant-coach-for-wpl-2026|website=royalchallengers.com|date=2025-11-09|access-date=2025-11-30|language=en}}</ref>
|-
| Assistant Coach
| [[Sunetra Paranjpe]]
|
|-
| Batting Coach
| RX Muralidhar
|
|-
| Therapist
| Navnita Gautam
|
|-
| Doctor
| rowspan="2" |Harini Muralidharan
|
|-
| Team Manager
|
|-
| Head Physio
| Sabyasachi Sahoo
|
|-
| Assistant Physio
| Mitra Amin
|
|-
! colspan="3" style="text-align: center;"|[https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-squad-women Source]
|}

==Performance record==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!Year
!League Standings
!Final Standings
!Most Runs
!Most Wickets
|-
![[2023 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2023]]
|4/5
|League Stage
|[[Sophie Devine]]
|[[Shreyanka Patil]]
|- bgcolor=gold
![[2024 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2024]]
|3/5
| '''Champions'''
|[[Ellyse Perry]]
|[[Shreyanka Patil]]
|-
![[2025 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2025]]
|4/5
|League Stage
|[[Ellyse Perry]]
|[[Georgia Wareham]]
|- bgcolor=gold
![[2026 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2026]]
|1/5
|'''Champions'''
|[[Smriti Mandhana]]
|[[Nadine de Klerk]]
|-
!Total
!colspan=2|''Champions x 2''
![[Smriti Mandhana]]
![[Shreyanka Patil]]
|}

[https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/trophy/women-s-premier-league-988?team=7053 Source]

==Captaincy record==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Player
! Duration
! Matches
! Won
! Lost
! Win Percentage
! Best Result
|-
| [[Smriti Mandhana]]
| 2023–present
| 35
| 18
| 17
| 51.42%
|bgcolor=gold|'''Champions''' ([[2024 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2024]], [[2026 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2026]])
|}

==Player statistics==
===Most runs===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! #
! Player
! Runs
! Innings
! Duration
|-
|1
![[Smriti Mandhana]]
|1023
|35
|2023–present
|-
|2
![[Ellyse Perry]]
|972
|25
|2023–present
|-
|3
![[Richa Ghosh]]
|814
|33
|2023–present
|-
|4
![[Sophie Devine]]
|402
|18
|2023–2024
|-
|5
![[Grace Harris]]
|237
|9
|2026–present
|}

[https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/trophy/batting-most-runs-career/women-s-premier-league-988?team=7053 Source]

===Most wickets===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! #
! Player
! Wickets
! Innings
! Duration
|-
|1
![[Shreyanka Patil]]
|30
|24
|2023–present
|-
|2
![[Georgia Wareham]]
|19
|18
|2024–2025
|-
|3
![[Nadine de Klerk]]
|18
|10
|2026–present
|-
|4
![[Asha Sobhana]]
|17
|15
|2023–2024
|-
|5
![[Ellyse Perry]]
|14
|20
|2023–present
|}

[https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/trophy/bowling-most-wickets-career/women-s-premier-league-988?team=7053 Source]

==Awards==
===[[List of Women's Premier League (cricket) awards|Women's Premier League]]===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Recipient
! Ref
|-
| [[2023 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2023]]
| [[List of Women's Premier League (cricket) awards#Most Sixes|Most Sixes]]
! [[Sophie Devine]]
|
|-
| rowspan=5|[[2024 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2024]]
| [[List of Women's Premier League (cricket) awards#Orange Cap|Orange Cap]]
! [[Ellyse Perry]]
| rowspan=5|<ref>{{Cite web |title=WPL 2024 Full List of Awards: RCB's Ellyse Perry grabs Orange Cap, Shreyanka Patil takes Purple; Deepti Sharma MVP |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/wpl-2024-full-list-of-awards-rcb-ellyse-perry-grabs-orange-cap-shreyanka-patil-takes-purple-deepti-sharma-mvp-101710730188479.html |website=Hindustan Times}}</ref>
|-
| [[List of Women's Premier League (cricket) awards#Purple Cap|Purple Cap]]
! [[Shreyanka Patil]]
|-
| [[List of Women's Premier League (cricket) awards#Best Strike Rate|Best Strike Rate]]
! [[Georgia Wareham]]
|-
| [[List of Women's Premier League (cricket) awards#Emerging Player|Emerging Player of the Season]]
! [[Shreyanka Patil]]
|-
| [[List of Women's Premier League (cricket) awards#Fairplay Award|Fairplay Award]]
! Royal Challengers Bengaluru
|-
| rowspan=2|[[2026 Women's Premier League (cricket)|2026]]
| [[List of Women's Premier League (cricket) awards#Orange Cap|Orange Cap]]
! [[Smriti Mandhana]]
|
|-
| [[List of Women's Premier League (cricket) awards#Best Strike Rate|Best Strike Rate]]
! [[Grace Harris]]
|
|}

===Others===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Result
! Ref
|-
| 2024
| [[Indian Sports Honours]]
| Club of the Year
| {{nom}}
|
|}

==See also==
* [[Sports in Karnataka]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Women's Premier League (cricket)}}
{{Royal Challengers Bangalore WPL squad}}
{{Royal Challengers Bangalore (WPL)}}

[[Category:Royal Challengers Bengaluru]]
[[Category:Cricket clubs established in 2023]]
[[Category:Women's Premier League (cricket) teams]]
[[Category:United Breweries Group]]
[[Category:Royal Challengers Bangalore (WPL)]]

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (WPL) - Revision history

Dr. D. Maheswari: Made a stub!