RCB In Final, Mitchell Marsh Out And Afghanistan Squad- May 26 Cricket Highlights

Rajat Patidar and Mitchell Marsh [Source: AFP]

Defending champions RCB reached the final of the IPL 2026 season. Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of Australia’s ODI tour of Pakistan. In other news, the ACB has unveiled the entire Afghanistan squad for the upcoming tour of India.

Capping an eventful day in the world of cricket, here we take a look at five of the biggest cricketing news that emerged out of Tuesday, May 26.

Mitchell Marsh out of Pakistan series, Josh Inglis to lead

Australia captain Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series in Pakistan. The senior all-rounder recently sustained an ankle injury while playing for the LSG franchise in the IPL 2026 season.

Also Read- All Australian Players Out Of PAK vs AUS ODIs Due To IPL

With Marsh getting ruled out, Cricket Australia has named wicketkeeper-batter and fellow LSG cricketer Josh Inglis as interim captain for the series against the ‘Men in Green’.

Kamindu Mendis leaves SRH for national duty

Kamindu Mendis has left the SRH camp ahead of the IPL 2026 playoffs. The cricketer will be joining the Sri Lanka squad for national duties in their upcoming all-format tour of West Indies. Kamindu was recently appointed as vice-captain of Sri Lanka’s ODI and T20I sides for the tour.

It is worth noting that the star Sri Lankan batter did not receive a single crack in the playing XI for the SRH franchise this IPL 2026 season.

Hashmatullah Shahidi to lead as AFG name squad for India tour

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has named Afghanistan’s entire squads for the upcoming one-off Test and ODI series in India. Hashmatullah Shahidi will continue to lead both sides, and Azmatullah Omarzai has been included in the Test squad.

Star spinner Rashid Khan was excluded from the Test line-up, but remains one of the seniormost members of the ODI team. The series between Afghanistan and India will be played between June 6 and June 20.

Vijay Shankar joins Kandy Royals for LPL 2026

Former Indian all-rounder Vijay Shankar has been roped in by the Kandy Royals franchise for the upcoming LPL 2026 season. Interestingly, the ex-CSK batter only recently announced his retirement from IPL and Indian domestic cricket.

Shankar will now join the Royals alongside fellow international players like Wanindu Hasaranga, Angelo Mathews and legendary England all-rounder Moeen Ali. The former Indian cricketer has now become only the third Indian to play LPL after Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan.

Rajat Patidar storms RCB into IPL 2026 final

Defending champions RCB decimated Gujarat Titans by 92 runs in the first qualifier of the IPL 2026 season in Dharamsala. Batting first, RCB mounted 254-5 in 20 overs, with captain Rajat Patidar blasting 93* runs off just 33 balls with five boundaries and nine huge sixes.

In response, a three-wicket haul from Jacob Duffy and two wickets each for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam and Krunal Pandya bundled SRH out for just 162, as RCB became the first side to reach the IPL 2026 final.

Also Read- Players Who Are Still In The Race For Orange Cap In IPL 2026 Playoffs