Every IPL season, one Royal Challengers Bengaluru match stands out. The players walk out in green instead of their usual red and black, and the reason is not a new sponsor deal or a celebration of a title. It is a sustainability campaign that the franchise started more than a decade ago.
Our cricket culture and gear guide explains the general reasons teams change their kits. This one focuses on the RCB green jersey, what it stands for, and how the tradition actually works.
Quick Answer
RCB wears a green jersey once every IPL season as part of a sustainability campaign the franchise started in 2011. The shirts are made from plastic waste collected around the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, and the match begins with a sapling exchange instead of the usual pennants.
When Did RCB Start Wearing Green?
The initiative began in 2011, the franchise’s fourth season in the league. At the time, the idea was simple: use the one thing a cricket team already has, a shirt worn in front of a full stadium, to talk about the environment.
RCB calls the effort its Green Initiative and also refers to it as Go Green. The early version of the message was blunt. When the team wore the green shirt in 2012, the club described it as a special cause intended to send out the message that greener measures need to be adopted if the planet is to be saved.
By 2026, that made the 2026 season the fifteenth one to include a green jersey. What began as a single match has grown into a wider program covering waste, energy, transport, lakes, and schools.
Why Only One Match Each Season?
RCB’s normal playing colors are red and black. Those do not change. The green kit is a deliberate one-off, used for a single match so that it stays noticeable.
If the team wore green all season, the sight of it would become ordinary. Wearing it once keeps the message clear. In the Indian Premier League, where teams play a long season and wear their main kit dozens of times, one scheduled exception has more impact than a permanent change.
This is the same idea behind why cricket teams wear different jersey colors in general. Contrast, identity, and rules decide the base colors. A campaign like Green Initiative is a deliberate exception on top of them.
What Happens on a Green Day
Two things make the green match different from an ordinary league game.
The Jersey Is Made From Stadium Waste
The shirts are not simply dyed green. Reporting on the 2026 match described them as crafted entirely from recycled plastic waste collected from the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and its surrounding precincts.
That closes a small loop. The waste is produced by fans inside the ground, it is sorted, and it comes back as the shirt those same fans watch the team play in. The shirt is also a working kit rather than a costume, so it has to perform in the heat of an afternoon match.
The Captains Exchange a Plant Instead of Pennants
At the toss, the usual ritual is a handover of team pennants. On a green day, the RCB captain gives a sapling to the opposing captain instead.
This is a long-running part of the tradition. The exchange was documented in 2019, when Virat Kohli posed with Shreyas Iyer holding a plant, and again in 2023, when Kohli and Sanju Samson exchanged potted plants at the toss.
It works because a plant is a promise rather than a piece of paper. A pennant disappears after the handshake. The sapling has to be planted, which is the entire point.
The Most Recent Green Jersey Match
In the 2026 season, RCB wore green in a home league game against the Delhi Capitals at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on 18 April 2026. The club announced the decision in advance, one day before the match.
Rajat Patidar, the RCB captain, presented a small sapling to Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel at the toss. Patidar was asked directly why the team wears the shirt, and he answered that they wear it to show their commitment to sustainability and to encourage everyone to make green choices for the planet.
That quote is the shortest honest answer to the question, and it came from the captain standing at the toss rather than from a marketing summary.
Is the Green Match Always at Home?
No. This is where a lot of write-ups get it slightly wrong. Many describe the green jersey as a home match tradition, and it has been worn at the Chinnaswamy in 2019, 2023, and 2026.
But in 2025, RCB wore the green kit on the road. The match was against the Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, and the club again introduced it as the season’s green match.
So the accurate version is one designated match per season, usually in Bengaluru, but not always.
What RCB Actually Does for the Environment
The jersey is the visible part. The less visible work sits behind it, and the club sets out four main areas on its official Green Initiatives page.
Waste Management at the Chinnaswamy
Food, plastic, and paper add up to tonnes of waste at every home match. RCB works with Goodera and Saahas to segregate and recycle the waste generated and collected at the ground during home games.
Restoring Lakes in Bengaluru
In partnership with Goodera, the franchise set out to restore three lakes in South Bengaluru covering more than 44 acres. The stated goal was to reduce flooding in the surrounding area and make the connected lakes and nearby land more liveable.
Partnering With Green Schools
RCB frames the school program as a way to reach the players of the future. The aim is long term behavioural change, delivered by partnering with schools in Bengaluru.
Energy and the Green Pledge
To offset its footprint, the club uses solar and wind energy to power the stadium during home matches. It also invites fans to take a pledge, described as the RCB Green Army pledge.
The pledge asks fans to commit to ten everyday actions, such as planting a tree every year, saving and reusing water, carrying your own shopping bags, buying local or seasonal produce, segregating and recycling waste, using both sides of the paper, using electric vehicles and public transport, and donating or recycling old clothes. RCB says its auditors contact pledgers to confirm participation.
Important
The claim that RCB is the only carbon neutral T20 franchise in the world is the franchise’s own claim about itself. RCB also states that it measures fan travel, team operations, and stadium energy use, and that matchday sustainability audits take place during the season. Those figures are then consolidated into a sustainability report that goes through an independent assurance process. If you cite the carbon neutral claim, attribute it to the club rather than presenting it as a verified independent fact.
Common Confusions About the RCB Green Jersey
Beginners often mix up a few related things. These are the ones that come up most.
| Common belief | What is actually true |
|---|---|
| Green is RCB’s real kit color | No. Red and black remain the primary colors. Green is worn for one match per season. |
| RCB changed its jersey for 2026 | No. The green match has run every season since 2011, including 2026. |
| The green match is always in Bengaluru | No. In 2025 RCB wore it away against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. |
| The shirt is a normal kit dyed green | No. It is made from recycled plastic waste collected around the stadium. |
| The sapling is a one-off stunt | No. It is part of the toss ritual and has been documented in 2019, 2023, and 2026. |
| Carbon neutral means zero emissions | It means emissions are measured and offset. RCB describes a process of measurement, reduction, and offset. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does RCB wear a green jersey?
To promote its Green Initiative, a sustainability program the franchise started in 2011. The captain described the reason as showing a commitment to sustainability and encouraging people to make green choices.
When did RCB first wear a green jersey?
The initiative launched in 2011, during the franchise’s fourth IPL season. The 2026 season was the fifteenth to include a green jersey.
Is the RCB green jersey made from recycled plastic?
Yes. Reporting on the 2026 match described the shirts as made from recycled plastic waste collected from the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and the surrounding area.
How often does RCB wear the green jersey?
Once per IPL season. It is not a regular playing kit, which is why the single match still attracts attention.
What happens at the toss on green day?
The RCB captain gives a sapling to the opposing captain instead of the usual exchange of team pennants. The plant has to be planted, which is the point of the gesture.
Conclusion
The RCB green jersey is a 2011 tradition, not a rebrand. The franchise picks one match each season, builds the shirt from plastic waste collected around its own ground, and replaces the toss pennants with a sapling. Behind the shirt sits a wider program covering waste, lakes, schools, energy, and fan pledges.
For a new fan, the useful takeaway is simple. When you see RCB in green, you are watching a deliberate exception, and the reason is environmental rather than commercial.
Read More: Who Is the Most Successful IPL Captain? 2026 Records
