RCB opened IPL 2026 with a win. Credits - AFP
The defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, opened their IPL 2026 with a massive win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad last Saturday. As they were forced to field a bowling line-up without Josh Hazlewood and Nuwan Thushara, SRH posted 201/9 against RCB, but they chased down the total in just 15.4 overs.
On a frail bowling day, Jacob Duffy turned up as a hero as he bagged the Player of the Match award for his 3/22. However, RCB's bowling line-up seems bleak and has been under scrutiny.
Josh Hazlewood has already joined the team, but is yet to regain full fitness. Meanwhile, Thushara is still in Sri Lanka as he has yet to receive his No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Cricket Sri Lanka.
Nuwan Thushara files lawsuit against SLC
After failing a series of fitness tests, Nuwan Thushara was denied NOC from the cricket board. Thus, it was earlier reported that the Sri Lankan quick will miss the entire season of the IPL.
However, the 31-year-old has decided to drag the Sri Lanka board to a local court to seek the NOC. As per NewsWire, the case between the cricketer and SLC has been taken up before the Colombo District Court today, with a hearing scheduled for April 9.
"Thushara has named Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva, Secretary Bandula Dissanayake, Treasurer Sujeewa Godaliyadda and CEO Ashley de Silva as defendants," the report stated.
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"The cricketer has told court that failure to issue the NOC would result in him being replaced by his IPL franchise and losing significant income and future career opportunities," it added.
It has been understood that Thushara's central contract has been due post March 21, 2026, meaning him a non-contracted cricketer currently. The right-arm quick is not interested in renewing his central contract with SLC - a move that would enable him to join RCB without a NOC.
Why is Nuwan Thushara not obtaining his NOC?
Nuwan Thushara is not dealing with an injury per se, but he has been failing to meet the mandatory fitness criteria set by SLC. He also missed the recently concluded T20 World Cup after failing to meet the fitness standards.
He was bought by the Bengaluru-based franchise ahead of IPL 2024 for INR 1.6 crore and was retained for the subsequent season. The Sri Lankan seamer could only get a solitary game in IPL 2025, but with Hazlewood injured and Yash Dayal absent, he was expected to start for them.
Known for his death bowling, Thushara has also featured for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Overall, he has played 137 T20s, scalping 174 wickets at an economy rate of 8.25.
For Sri Lanka, the right-arm quick has played 30 T20Is to scalp 36 wickets at 8.16. However, he has not made his debut in Tests and ODIs yet.
When can Nuwan Thushara play for RCB?
Even if the ruling by the district court goes in favour of Nuwan Thushara, he will miss RCB's next fixture against Chennai on April 5. However, he might not be available for the next games. The franchise will play its third game in IPL 2026 on April 10, versus Rajasthan in Assam.
From Bengaluru’s point of view, Josh Hazlewood is expected to miss the next two games and will be available from the fixture against MI, on April 12 in Mumbai.
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