Royal Challengers Bengaluru (WPL)
Bengaluru based franchise in the Women's Premier League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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. It is owned by Aditya Birla Group, the The Times Group and Blackstone. Malolan Rangarajan is the coach and Smriti Mandhana is the captain. RCB won the 2024 season, bringing home the first trophy for the franchise, and followed it up by winning their second WPL title during the 2026 season.[1] The team is the most popular and followed cricket franchise on Instagram with more than 23 million followers.[2]
(2023–present)
(2025–present)
| ||
| Nickname | RCB | |
|---|---|---|
| League | Women's Premier League | |
| Personnel | ||
| Captain | Smriti Mandhana (2023–present) | |
| Coach | Malolan Rangarajan (2025–present) | |
| Owner | Aditya Birla Group The Times Group Blackstone (2026–present) | |
| Team information | ||
| City | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | |
| Colours | ||
| Founded | 2023 | |
| Home ground | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | |
| Capacity | 33,800 | |
| History | ||
| WPL wins | 2 (2024, 2026) | |
| Official website | Website | |
| ||
History
In October 2022, the BCCI announced its intentions to hold a five-team women's franchise cricket tournament in March 2023.[3] The tournament was named the Women's Premier League in January 2023, with investors buying the rights to franchises through a closed bidding process during the same month.[4] Diageo, the owners of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, bought the rights to one of the franchises.[4]
In February 2023, Ben Sawyer was announced as head coach of the team.[5] The inaugural player auction for the WPL was held on 13 February 2023, Royal Challengers Bangalore signing 18 players for their squad.[6] On 18 February 2023, Smriti Mandhana was announced as the team's captain. The team finished fourth in the group stage at the inaugural tournament.[7]
In September 2023, Luke Williams was announced as the head coach for the 2024 season.[8] 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 eliminator, the team defeated the defending champions — Mumbai Indians, to advance into the final. In the final, they defeated 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 defeated the 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.[9]
Team identity
Kajaria Tiles was the official title sponsor of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the inaugural WPL season in 2023.[10] Mia by Tanishq and Dream11 served as principal partners, while Puma, Himalaya and Vega were associate partners. Zuno General Insurance was the official insurance partner for the 2023 season.[11][12]
Sponsorship
| Year | Kit manufacturer | Front sponsor | Back sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Puma | Kajaria | Mia |
| 2024 | |||
| 2025 | Alliance University | ||
| 2026 | Kalyan Jewellers |
Kit evolution
The official colours of Royal Challengers Bengaluru are red, black and gold.
     2023–present |
Squad
| # | Role | Nationality | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Batter |  India |
Smriti Mandhana (C) |
| 13 | Batter |  Australia |
Georgia Voll |
| 56 | All-rounder | India |
Arundhati Reddy |
| 42 | All-rounder | India |
Dayalan Hemalatha |
| 99 | All-rounder | India |
Gautami Naik |
| 29 | All-rounder | Australia |
Grace Harris |
| 17 | All-rounder |  South Africa |
Nadine de Klerk |
| 88 | All-rounder | India |
Pooja Vastrakar |
| 90 | All-rounder | India |
Prema Rawat |
| 10 | All-rounder | India |
Radha Yadav |
| 33 | All-rounder | India |
Sayali Satghare |
| 21 | All-rounder | India |
Shreyanka Patil |
| 8 | Bowler |  England |
Lauren Bell |
| 44 | Bowler | England |
Linsey Smith |
| 55 | Wicket-keeper | India |
Prathyoosha Kumar |
| 36 | Wicket-keeper | India |
Richa Ghosh |
Coaching staff
| Position | Name | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Head Coach | Malolan Rangarajan | |
| Assistant Coach | Anya Shrubsole | [13] |
| Assistant Coach | Sunetra Paranjpe | |
| Batting Coach | RX Muralidhar | |
| Therapist | Navnita Gautam | |
| Doctor | Harini Muralidharan | |
| Team Manager | ||
| Head Physio | Sabyasachi Sahoo | |
| Assistant Physio | Mitra Amin | |
| Source | ||
Performance record
| Year | League Standings | Final Standings | Most Runs | Most Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4/5 | League Stage | Sophie Devine | Shreyanka Patil |
| 2024 | 3/5 | Champions | Ellyse Perry | Shreyanka Patil |
| 2025 | 4/5 | League Stage | Ellyse Perry | Georgia Wareham |
| 2026 | 1/5 | Champions | Smriti Mandhana | Nadine de Klerk |
| Total | Champions x 2 | Smriti Mandhana | Shreyanka Patil | |
Captaincy record
| Player | Duration | Matches | Won | Lost | Win Percentage | Best Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smriti Mandhana | 2023–present | 35 | 18 | 17 | 51.42% | Champions (2024, 2026) |
Player statistics
Most runs
| # | 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 |
Most wickets
| # | 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 |
Awards
Women's Premier League
| Year | Award | Recipient | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Most Sixes | Sophie Devine | |
| 2024 | Orange Cap | Ellyse Perry | [14] |
| Purple Cap | Shreyanka Patil | ||
| Best Strike Rate | Georgia Wareham | ||
| Emerging Player of the Season | Shreyanka Patil | ||
| Fairplay Award | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | ||
| 2026 | Orange Cap | Smriti Mandhana | |
| Best Strike Rate | Grace Harris |
Others
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Indian Sports Honours | Club of the Year | Nominated |