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RCB Asked to Open With Virat Kohli-Devdutt Padikkal During IPL 2026 Game vs LSG: 'Phil Salt Brought...'

Ankit Banerjee | May 7, 2026 4:57 PM CST

LSG vs RCB, IPL 2026: Ahead of the game against Lucknow, former India cricketer Kris Srikkanth has given advise to RCB to make a change in the opening slot. As per Srikkanth, Kohli should open with Devdutt Padikkal. Jacob Bethell has been opening with Kohli since Phil Salt was ruled out of the tournament.

With Jacob Bethell at the top, Srikkanth reckons the explosiveness is missing and hence he made the suggestion.

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One game at a time, react better in pressure moments, and more on how we’re going to approach the tournament going forward as the battle to the top starts heating up, on… pic.twitter.com/7Xjz7pH8jb
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‘You need a swashbuckler at the top’

"Maybe Padikkal should open for them against LSG and Bethell can come in the middle order. RCB's middle order has also caved in against good bowling. After Padikkal, four to seven have caved in quite a number of times,” Srikkanth said in a video on his YouTube channel.

"Salt brought the demolishing factor. Other teams with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head or Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh bring that demolition factor, which RCB lacks. Salt was the one who brought that demolition structure for them. You need a swashbuckler at the top, which is missing,” he added.

Can RCB Dethrone SRH?

All RCB need to do is win. If they win, they go top of the points table dethroning Sunrisers Hyderabad. RCB have won six of the nine matches they played and are currently at the third place in the leaders board. Kohli has been in good touch and fans would be hoping for another of his special knocks at the Ekana tonight. The team winning the toss may opt to field first due to the nature of the pitch which would be on the slower side.