The dust is settling down on the Indian Premier League 2026 but it does leave a few intriguing questions about the bigger picture in future—even though the stakeholders may want to live in denial. There is a feeling that the magic is distinctly waning, and it has a lot to do with the way the league is being managed rather than any dip in the talent base of the players.

The fundamentals of the league are as robust as ever, what with the change of hands of two franchises: back-to-back champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals witnessing an exponential increase in value at approximately Rs 31,500 crore. The next big challenge for IPL will come next year when their five-year media rights deal comes up for renewal.

The battle of media rights may be a critical one—as the warning signals have been sounded in a data released by BARC India and TAM Sports which shows the TV viewership of  IPL has dropped by nearly 18.8 per cent compared to last year. The average number of spectators watching the action has also gone down by 26 per cent, says the survey, though there have been several exceptions like the finale in Ahmedabad which recorded 90, 014 fans on Sunday night. 

What is it that’s causing the richest T20 league in the world to lose out on some of it’s charm after years of riding the storm through economic recession, controversies and myriad problems? The few credible reasons that the BCCI needs to address urgently is: cricket fatigue, unwieldy duration of the league running though the peak of summer; an uneven contest between bat and ball which has led to frequent calls for removing the ‘impact player’ rule and the regulatory impact on Online Gaming Act last year.

Cricket fatigue

The 2026 cricket season started for India with a home series against New Zealand which wrapped up on 31 January, only for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to launch a mere week later on 7 February. When India lifted the trophy after defeating New Zealand in the final on 8 March, fans got barely three weeks before the IPL kicked off on 28 March.

Now that IPL has ended on 31 May, the break is even shorter as in just six days, India will face Afghanistan in a cross-format series consisting of a solitary Test and three ODIs. Such short turnaround times between major events is not helping, even if it’s IPL.

Unwieldy duration of league

Just ponder over the fact that this year, the IPL was on for over 65 days for 74 matches—an extremely unwieldy duration to hold the viewers’ interest even if the competition is of the highest order. If that’s not enough, the BCCI now has plans to increase the number of matches further so that all 10 teams can play each other on home-and-away basis and it can act as a hook for potential broadcasters.

Arun Dhumal, the IPL chairman, revealed that they are mulling over two options: one is an early start to the league and the other is that of splitting it into two windows to eventually go upto 94 matches. It remains to be seen how they can navigate this problem.

Uneven battle

Much has been written about the phenomenon, what with the introduction of ‘Impact Player' three years back proving to be the proverbial last nail in the coffin to the hopes of seeing balanced contests between bat and ball. This effectively equips a team with an extra batter—allowing the openers the liberty of throwing their bats at everything as even 100-plus scores in the powerplay do not raise eyebrows anymore.

Such manic hitting, be it from the boy wonder Vaibhav Sooryavanshi or a Cameron Green, tended to make the matches predictable with totals of 240-250 becoming a regular affair. The time has possibly come to put a few checks and balances—with somone like Sachin Tendulkar recommending a few rules changes in the T20 format.

Regulatory impact

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act of 2025, which saw applications like Dream 11 and My11Circle making an exit, has proved to be another dampener for fan engagement. Many viewers watched matches specifically to track their fantasy teams but with the exit of fantasy sport apps, both advertising volume and viewers’ skin in the game have diminished.

This regulatory shift triggered a severe contraction in terms of business. The number of brands advertising on linear television broadcasts plummeted 31 per cent this season, shrinking to roughly 45 brands from more than 65 in 2025. With nearly 44 legacy advertisers abandoning the IPL ecosystem, only 24 new brands stepped in to fill the void.

The tag of being ODI world champions may bring additional pressure to Harmanpreet Kaur & Co when they begin their campaign in the T20 World Cup in June-July in England, but it’s also expected to give them a much-needed self belief. The 15-member squad named by BCCI has a chunk of the squad which won the 50-overs World Cup at home last November, with the only surprise of Amanjot Kaur being not there.

Replying to one of the early queries on her omission, Harmanpreet said at the media interaction in Mumbai on Saturday: “Amanjot is our key player but she is not available. She is away from cricket for 4-5 months now. It was difficult to find someone like her but we are trying. We have got Radha (Jadhav) back in the side and she is also an allrounder. It was hard to find Amanjot’s replacement but we are trying to balance the team.”

The best showing of Women in Blue in World T20 so far came in 2020 just before Covid shook the world when they finished runners up to the all conquering Australians in a one-sided final. The last edition in 2024, when the event had to be relocated to the UAE from Bangladesh at the eleventh hour due to the volatile political conditions in the neighbouring country, saw them exit from the group stages after only two wins.

India find themselves in the tougher of the two groups alongside Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Netherlands – with the marquee India vs Pakistan league game on 14 June. While the Pakistan women’s team is one of the weaker ones in Group 1, the match is expected to expected to whip up enough frenzy among the diaspora of both countries in the UK.

Spelling out her plans, Harmanpreet – who will be leading the country in her fifth World T20, said: “I feel that in T20s, powerplay is very important, if you are batting, you have to target runs. If you are bowling, you have to get a couple of wickets in that phase. We want to work very hard for the powerplay and also for the middle overs, as that also plays a big role. We have a plan and the learning which we got from SA.”

When asked about the recent 4-1 drubbing at the hands of South Africa in a bilateral series, Harmanpreet said that one can’t judge her team just on one series defeat. “This was the only series where our bowling didn't click, as we had won an away series before that in Australia. However, we had a lot of learnings there and we know how to improve as a team. We are going to have another camp and we will try to fix all our issues.”

The skipper will be supported in the batting line-up by key players in deputy Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and the hard hitting keeper-batter Richa Ghosh while the bowling responsibilities will largely rest on the shoulders of Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh.

India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav.

Groupings: Group 1: Australia, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Netherlands
Group 2: West Indies, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Scotland

There is hardly any downtime for the top bracket of Indian cricketers as in less than a week of the IPL 2026 concluding, they are back in business. While members of the Test team, including skipper Shubman Gill have converged in Mullanpur for the one-off contest against Afghanistan from Saturday, the winning captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru – Rajat Patidar – wasted no time to lead his team in the Madhya Pradesh League (MPL) T20 Scindia Cup 2026.

The start to his state’s own league was not exactly an ideal one for Patidar, captain of Gwalior Cheetahs, as they suffered a whopping 92-run defeat to Ujjain Falcons in the MPL opener in Indore on Wednesday. Patidar, whose leadership in RCB and ultra-aggressive approach in batting played it’s part in back-to-back titles for his team, was dismissed cheaply for 11.

The Cheetahs, who made a semi-final exit in MPL last season, will look to hit the winning ways quickly. Shaking off the fatigue of crisscrossing the country to play the marathon IPL over last two months, Patidar said on the eve of the game: ‘’ It’s always a special feeling to come back and play in Madhya Pradesh. The last couple of months have been memorable, but every new tournament brings fresh challenges and fresh motivation. The MPL has become an important platform for cricket in the state and I’m excited to once again represent the Gwalior Cheetahs.’’

Incidentally, Patidar is not the only player from the IPL title-winning team to figure in MPL as Venkatesh Iyer – yet another marquee name in Madhya Pradesh – is captaining the Indore Pink Panthers. The MPL is another one in the assembly line after the BCCI sanction for state bodies to conduct their own T20 leagues – with the directive that all of them have to start at the conclusion of IPL and can run over June-July.

A conservative estimate says that there are at least 15 of them now in which the time-tested ones are the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and the Maharajas Cup in Bengaluru – while the other high profile ones are Mumbai T20 League, Delhi Premier League, Bengal Pro T20 League alongwith the ones in UP, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Vidarbha.

The Maharajas Cup in Karnataka will see Devdutt Padikkal, who opened the RCB innings in the later part of IPL campaign with Virat Kohli, where the stylish southpaw is turning out for Hubli Tigers. Jitesh Sharma, the wicketkeeper-batter of RCB, meanwhile headed straight to Nagpur after playing the IPL final in Ahmedabad to join his team Neco Master Blaster in the Vidarbha T20 League which was one of the first to get off the blocks.

There is no doubt that the proliferation of such leagues has led to a huge crop of uncapped players making decent money (often to the tune of Rs 8-9 lakhs), while such leagues have been the hunting ground of the IPL scouts. However, multiple visits to the Eden Gardens last year for Bengal Pro T20 League showed rather poor turnouts – raising questions whether it’s a case of being one league too many and more a work in progress.

An embarrassing case for Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), hosts of Bengal Pro T20, was when Harbour Diamonds, the franchise led by former international and Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary, pulled out of the league after two seasons just ahead of the auction. This came right on the back of an announcement that the number of teams will go upto nine this season, forcing CAB to scale the league back into a eight-team affair like first two seasons.

There was another jarring incident which saw the partners of Rarh Tigers pulling out of their agreement – which resulted in their mentor Wriddhiman Saha stepping down of his role in pre-season. The BCCI have been keeping these incidents on their radar but have stayed away as it’s the prerogative of the states and respective franchises.

A senior BCCI official, however, said on conditions of anonymity: ‘’There should be some diligence as to who are the investors behind these teams. There should be some quality control as well….For example, a parallel women’s league in Bengal is a great idea, but do they have sufficient depth in the pool of players to make eight teams?’’ Surely, it’s a point to ponder! 

A Virat Kohli century is nothing short of an event these days. The cricketing fraternity knows that, to quote the master batter himself, “it is going to finish one day” — and is lapping up every moment of the show during the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The expansive Raipur Stadium witnessed another of Virat Kohli’s trademark chasing masterclasses as his unbeaten 105 off 60 balls made the 190-plus target set by Kolkata Knight Riders look embarrassingly easy, helping defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru climb back to the top of the table.

It was a vintage Kohli effort, one in which he made batting appear ridiculously simple, toying with a relatively inexperienced attack through elegant strokeplay and relentless running between the wickets.

For those inclined towards numbers, it was Virat Kohli’s ninth Indian Premier League century and his 10th overall in the format, while he also became the fastest batter to reach the 14,000-run mark. The records, however, would count for little to a man who has arguably been the most influential batter in world cricket over the last decade.

What truly stands out is his relentless hunger to succeed at 36, coupled with jaw-dropping fitness levels that allow him to keep pace with the demands of the modern game — and, of course, his unmistakably fierce competitive streak.

The subject came up during TV pundit Ian Bishop’s post-match chat and Kohli’s simple answer was: ‘’I just love batting, even after all this. That is my core feeling.’’ Incidentally, there was a sudden thaw of runs in the past two games when Kohli fell without troubling the scorers – and the pressure could have built up with another failure at the business end of the tournament. A similar situation occurred when the former India captain returned to international cricket in away ODIs in Australia last year after a gap of five months, but the difference is he had been in a good nick in the long drawn IPL.      

‘’The fact that I did not score runs (last two matches) eats me up because I have been playing well. It bothers you because that has been the goal - to be the best version. Century or no century, the more important thing is to finish the game,’’ said Kohli, who is now third in the Orange Cap race after Wednesday’s match with 484 runs. Heinrich Klaasen of Sunrisers Hyderabad is perched on top with 508 runs with Gujarat Titans’ Sai Sudarshan second on 501.

Asked if he felt any form of pressure after a brief barren run, Kohli observed: ‘’There is a reason people say pressure is a privilege - it keeps you humble. Good pressure always helps you improve your game. I was nervous, I just wanted to get off the mark. It takes a lot of effort but it helps your game go up. Those failures are so important because they put you in a place to get back to where you have been and do what has gotten you there.

‘’I just love batting, even after all this. That is my core feeling. What an honour to be competing at this level and against the very best still. I just give my heart and soul out there because it is going to finish one day. I want to make the most of it and look forward to pressure situations where I am feeling a bit of heat and then I challenge myself to just go for it. Sport teaches you a lot as a person. You build your character,’’ he said.

‘’Even after all these years, it is the love for the game. I just love hitting the ball in the middle of the bat. That joy is still there, and it is all God’s grace and I am thankful and grateful,’’ he said.

Hope the likes of Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma or Tilak Varma are listening!

It was an unique evening at the presentation party of IPL finale in Ahmedabad on Sunday where Virat Kohli, an undisputed legend of the game, had to vie for attention with a precocious 15-year-old. Yes, one is talking about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – who swept all but two of the individual awards despite his team Rajasthan Royals exiting in the Eliminator.

Never before in it’s 18-year-old history has a single player picked up so many awards at stake: Orange Cap as topscorer (776 runs); Most Valuable Player; Emerging Player of the Year; Super Striker of the Year (237.30) and Super Sixes of the Year (72). The only two individual prizes which didn’t go his way were the Purple Cap for the highest wicket taker and the best catch – underlining the kind of impact he had created in his very second IPL season.

The debut season for Vaibhav in 2025, where he arrived with a stunning century, underlined his potential in no uncertain terms – but there were still a few doubters. Some questioned whether the boy from Samastipur in Bihar was really a 14-year-old while few others fancied him as a boom-or-bust performer who would still need to prove himself in trying conditions and big matches. After a profitable year in between, largely in Under-19 arena, Vaibhav came back matured and equipped to play according to the needs of the situation.

While Vaibhav scored 776 seasons this season with the highest strike rate (237.30), there were occasions when he tailored his game – like the 96 he scored to anchor the Royals to a 200-plus total against Titans in Qualifier 2. Such flexibility vindicates the national selector’s decision to induct him in the India A squad for a tri-series in Sri Lanka this month, while someone like Sachin Tendulkar does not want a prodigious talent like Vaibhav to be restricted to white ball cricket only.

 ‘’I would tell him to be just himself,’’ Tendulkar said at a reception where he was honoured by Cricinfo as the best batter of 21^st century. ‘’There is always a first time. In Test cricket, along with age, he will learn how to do deal with various challenges. It’s about having a solution-oriented mindset,’’ he said, hinting that Vaibhav’s time will come and there is no need for him to be rushed into the senior team.

  The Royals management had, in his first two seasons of IPL, created a protective ring about him – as Vaibhav is usually not sent in press conferences and is not exposed on social media. Hwoever, the job will get difficult for them in the third year of the cycle with the commercial ecosystem of the sport set to pounce on him and reports of ‘blank cheques’ being offered to his family for endorsements.

 Looking at the youngster’s power-hitting display throughout the season, TV pundit Ravi Shastri asked on live television: “Aap kitna doodh pite ho roz?” (How much milk do you drink every day?). Vaibhav, still holding multiple trophies and visibly overwhelmed by the scale of the moment, paused briefly before responding with a nervous smile: “Main ab doodh nahi pita” (I don’t drink milk anymore).

The clip went viral and online chatter was further amplified by Vaibhav’s existing commercial association with Zydus Wellness’ Complan, a nutrition drink brand that had recently signed him as a youth ambassador. As part of the campaign narrative, he had been featured in promotional content highlighting his journey from grassroots cricket to the IPL stage, aligning his image with the brand’s long-established positioning in the youth nutrition segment.

His current bat sponsorship deal is believed to be worth around Rs 50 lakh per year but that contract is now nearing its end. There are now reports gloating about that his existing sponsor is open to releasing him early and that the figures being offered to him could go far beyond what Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill currently earn from their respective deals with MRF.

 This is just the beginning and the emergence of Brand Vaibhav should be music to the ears of IPL authorities as they look to re-invent the wheel in the years to come. Sky is the limit for the young man!

The phrase playing for pride is one of the well worn cliches – but that’s what the star-studded Mumbai Indians will be aiming to do as they take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday. It’s been a while since the five-time champions have been out of contention, but they will be certainly looking to go out on a high in the two remaining league matches.

The Knights, sitting in eighth position in the table, are still in with a mathematical chance to be the fourth team in the play-offs – but a prime requisite for that will be to win both their remaining games (MI and Delhi Capitals on Sunday) and keep an eye on other results. Interestingly, there is a common theme in the chequered campaigns of both teams this year – that of a tryst with injuries to their key players.

 Acknowledging the issue, MI finisher Naman Dhir said: ‘’Yes, injury problems have really hampered our campaign. Rohit bhai was out with a hamstring injury for quite sometime, Hardik had a back problem while Surya went out on parternity leave.’’ If that was not enough, South African opener Quinton de Kock and young allrounder Raj Angad Bawa have been ruled out of the rest of the tournament.

Add to this, the Mumbai Paltan had to play under three different captains – Hardik, Surya and Jasprit Bumrah with the later managing to lead the team to a moraleboosting win in their previous game. Hardik, who has joined the team in Kolkata, bowled full tilt at the nets on Monday and spent some time batting – raising hopes of him making a comeback on Wednesday.

Asked whether playing under three different captains in a choppy campaign can be a ‘distraction,’ Dhir denied such a suggestion. ‘’We are looking to win the remaining two games for our fans,’’ said Dhir, one of their few consistent performers this season.

The hosts, who got their act right too late in the campaign with five wins from last six games, are meanwhile sweating on the fitness of their mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. With just 10 wickets against his name, Varun had hit the groove alongwith senior partner Sunil Narine in past few weeks, but has been bothered by a troublesome toe and did not fully fit while bowling at the optional nets on Tuesday.

 Matheesha Pathirana, the megabucks slingshot pacer from Sri Lanka, proved another non-starter for KKR when he pulled a hamstring after bowling just 1.2 overs in their previous home game against Gujarat Titans. ‘’Pathirana is still being assessed,’’ said the KKR spokesperson – which makes him a doubtful starter against a powerful batting line-up.  

There may be several talking points about the IPL 2026 eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals in New Chandigarh on Wednesday, but there are no prizes for guessing as to who will be the biggest crowdpuller of them all.

Can Vaibhav Sooryavanshi get going once again after tasting a rare failure against Mumbai Indians in their crunch final league game last Sunday?

The 18-year history of IPL has seen it’s quota of extraordinary entertainers, master seam bowlers and spinners – but one has not come across anyone quite this 15-year-old. ‘’He’s not real but AI,’’ joked Jos Buttler and one understands where he is coming from. The past year or so had seen the wonderkid take a quantum leap in stature in leaving his imprint in different parts of the world, so much so that the national selectors didn’t have an option but to fast track him in the India A squad for their Sri Lanka tour next month.

‘The Vaibhav effect’ had been so overpowering for the last two months that it provoked comparisons between him and Sachin Tendulkar at his age – what with the Little Master making his Test debut at age of 16 years in 1989.

The boy from Samastipur in Bihar is the product of a completely different generation alright, but the way he has redefined high tempo batting that Pat Cummins & Co will want to see his back early on in the powerplay when the ball does a bit at the north Indian venue.

Getting behind the euphoria, how does one break down the exploits of Vaibhav this season?

A total of 583 runs from 14 innings may see him lying in fifth position in the Orange Cap race behind Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill, Heinrich Klaasen and KL Rahul in that order – with three of them oozing class and being a treat for the eyes. What, however, sets Vaibhav apart was the clip at which these runs have come with his strike rate of 232 being the best among them, Finn Allen of KKR at the next best at 214.11.

Abhishek Sharma, the world No.1 T20I batter, who will trying to match the rival openers’ firepower in the company of Travis Head in the eliminator, has had a strike rate of 208 while being in the seventh position in the Orange Cap race with a total of 563.

Vaibhav has alone contributed 26 per cent of Royals’ runs in wins this season, the highest share for the franchise. Out of the 583 the opener has scored this season, 348 have come in wins but his most outrageous innings -- a 36-ball ton came in a loss, one of the rare occasions his brilliance wasn’t enough to drag RR over the line.

Trying to break down Vaibhav’s craft, Trevor Penny, assistant coach of Royals and one of the journeyman in the circuit said at the last pre-match press conference: ‘’I think he’s definitely never seen a 15-year-old bat like that. Even if he was 25, I think we’d be talking about him. I think age hasn’t come into it.

 ‘’He (Vaibhav) goes from ball one and he’s got all the shots. I think this year, compared to last year - I did watch on TV - he might have matured a bit on what shots he can play, where the bowlers think there’s a weakness. So he’s adapting to that and then playing accordingly,’’ the Zimbabwean said.

What is extraordinary about Vaibhav is while he is often as respectful as a normal teenager in a middle class Indian household, touching the feet of legendary cricketers in a pranam – he seems to be in no awe of any elite international bowlers. One recalls the Royals’ home game early on in the season against Mumbai Indians in Guwahati when Vaibhav greeted Jasprit Bumrah’s first delivery (mind you, he was facing Bumrah for the first time in his career) for a six over long on. The third ball he faced, Sooryavanshi pulled Bumrah's off-pace delivery for a six over deep-backward square leg.

Looking ahead, Vaibhav is also within a striking distance of the ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle’s record of most sixes (59) smashed in a single IPL season – a feat which he achieved for RCB in 2012. The young Royal, who has already become the first Indian to clobber 50 sixes in one edition, is six short of Gayle’s mark but has a maximum of three more games in a best case scenario.

If he manages to strike it, it will be another feather in the boy’s cap!

Catch the match 

IPL eliminator

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals

Venue: New Chandigarh

Start: 7.30 pm

How to solve a ‘problem’ like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi? This must have been the overriding topic of discussion at Gujarat Titans’ team meeting before they clash with Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 for a final berth in IPL 2026 in New Chandigarh on Friday.

 The day after Vaibhav’s matchwinning 97 in the Eliminator which knocked out Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 15-year-old continued to be the flavour of the global cricketing circles. From the likes of Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar to every TV pundit worth their salt, the sense of awe and wonder has been pervasive as the teenager held them to awe for a period of eight overs on the trot on Wednesday evening.

 Here’s what Tendulkar had to say on his X handle about the innings: ‘’Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s bat swing has been outstanding. What’s even more remarkable is how beautifully he clears his front foot to create room for balls aimed at his legs. This freedom allows him to play the way he does. That innings was nothing short of spectacular.’’

The value rival bowlers put on the youngster’s wicket manifested in the way a seasoned pace bowler like Mohammed Siraj went overboard with his celebrations when Vaibhav fell to a short delivery from him for 36 in their last league encounter. No prizes for guessing that the Titans’ speed merchants Siraj and Kagiso Rabada will try to trap him with the odd well-directed short delivery, but then he seems to be cracking the code fast.

 Asked if there were any special plans to contain the leader in the race for Orange Cap to the the topscorer, Parthiv Patel, the Titans’ assistant coach said: ‘’We would obviously try to get him early and have some plans for it.’’ There is enough room for soul searching in an otherwise consistent Titans’ camp after they allowed champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru to run away with the game in Qualifier 1 and succumb to a massive 92-run defeat.  

 Royals, who were the last team to make the play-offs, have won their last three matches on the trot - but a closer look reveals that they are heavily reliant on Vaibhav and Jofra Archer to come good. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was Royals’ go-to batter till last season before Vaibhav’s emergence, has been completely overshadowed by the teen sensation and is currently not looking at his usual best though Dhruv Jurel had been a stablising figure at number three.

 Going by captain Riyan Parag’s own admission, the Royals should have reached 260 on Wednesday but had an inexplicable collapse in the death overs – something they would like to improve on against a well balanced team like Titans.

 Titans, the 2022 champions, meanwhile are reaping the benefits of finishing at the top two as despite the hammering by RCB in Qualifier 1, they still have a fair chance of making it into the final. Their batting is heavily reliant on their top three - Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarshan and Jos Buttler and should they fail, then they don't really have the depth to turn it around.

 The bowling has been also their biggest ally throughout the season, but it faltered big time in the death overs in Dharamsala, where RCB skipper Rajat Patidar took the game away from Gill & Co. If it fails again, then they don't seem to have the ability to chase a big total and their brittle middle-order is one of the main reasons for it.

“Yeah, definitely, you know, this (Qualifier 1) is like you said, one of those games that we'd like to forget and start over in Mohali,” Gill said ahead of the knockout game on home turf.

 Catch the match

 IPL Qualifier 2

 Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals

 New Chandigarh, 7.30 pm IST

In the 19-year-old history of IPL, only two teams: Chennai Super Kings (2010-11) and Mumbai Indians (2019-20) had been able to win back-to-back titles. Royal Challengers Bangalore seem to have what it takes – call it the swagger or balance of the team – to emulate them as they take on Gujarat Titans in the final at Ahmedabad on Sunday but then this format is notorious for being a game of small margins.

A look at the final league standings may show that there have been very little to choose from between the two finalists – both of them having finished on 18 points (alongwith Sunrisers Hyderabad), but Rajat Patidar’s RCB showed their apetite for the big game in the way they mauled the normally consistent Titans in Qualifier 1. It gave them the luxury of a five-day break before the final while Shubman Gill & Co will look for a ‘quick turnaround’ within 24 hours to be at their best after a sapping Qualifier 2 in Mullanpur.

The fatigue is something which Gill seemed wary about after his classical 104 made the Titans’ chase of a daunting 214 against Rajasthan Royals look easy on Friday night. The IPL had, for reasons known best to them, dispensed with the system of hosting the second Qualifier and final at the same venue this year – scheduling Qualifier 1 at Dharamsala, the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 at New Chandigarh and then the final in the western part of the country in Ahmedabad at a day’s gap.

The Virat Kohli factor, given the supreme touch he is in (600 runs in 15 matches) and an insatiable hunger for team success gives RCB a big plus – though the team management must be thankful to Kohli and the collective wisdom behind hoisting Rajat Patidar in the hot seat last season.  Not only has the Madhya Pradesh batter, no spring chicken at 32, given their middle order the dynamism that they lacked in the past despite a plethora of big names, Patidar's calm approach to captaincy has added to RCB’s stability too as a team across the last two seasons. 

A batting line-up comprising of Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer (in Phil Salt’s absence), Devdutt Padikkal, Tim David and Patidar have relentlessly pounded the opposition with some top-gear batting. The nature of pitches or opposition’s bowling strategies have had little effect on their approach as no other team has managed to go past 200 as often as they did in this edition of the IPL. The RCB also have a stingy bowling unit, where Bhuvneshwar Kumar had been like a rock and the seasoned Krunal Pandya showing his canny game sense in the spin bowling department time and again.

The Titans, arguably the most consistent franchise in last five years since their arrival (being 2022 champions and having made the play-offs on all but one occasion), have been overtly reliant on the top three of Gill, Sai Sudarshan and Jos Buttler and betrayed a soft underbelly in the middle order. Much to their credit, the trio has delivered on most occasions: Gill (722, strike-rate: 163), Sudharsan (710, SR: 159) and Buttler (507, SR: 157).

Come Sunday, a final before a gigantic home crowd will invite it’s own pressure and this is where the likes of Washington Sundar (an unlikely No.5 for a top franchise), Jason Holder and Rashid Khan will have to punch above their weight in maintaining the run rate in case of a loss of early wickets.

The Titans’ bowling line-up, on the other hand, has the wherewithal to stop the marauding RCB batters, particularly if the Ahmedabad pitch offers some grip. Kagiso Rabada, the current leader in the Purple Cap race with 28 wickets, Mohammad Siraj, Rashid Khan, Jason Holder and Prasidh Krishna have all given the South African strong support.

Rabada and Siraj have struck an effective combine this season, bowling a chart-topping 165 and 162 dot balls respectively - an indication of their hold over batters even on some benign tracks. The pair has used the hard length to be telling effect, depriving the feared six-hitters the much-needed space for their golf swing of the bat.

Let’s see who has the last laugh on a Super Sunday!

Catch the match

IPL final

Gujarat Titans vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Kolkata

 Start: 7.30 pm

Remember Jacob Bethell, the 23-year-old with bleach blonde hair, who sent shivers down India’s spine with a 105 off 48 balls during England’s T20 World Cup semi-final? Now in his second season of IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore, he admits of spending quality time by watching the senior pros upclose and adapting to a high tempo of the game.  

Speaking to the official YouTube channel of his franchise, Bethell said how watching teammate Virat Kohli at work can be a masterclass for any batter aspiring for excellence.  “Watching Virat chase, you understand the art of batting, how to control a chase and stay not out. It’s about shifting gears based on the situation,” said Bethell, being heralded as a future superstar of world cricket.

How has the demanding environment of IPL been treating him so far? The overseas quota of four players in playing XI means Bethell has to be patient in waiting for his place, but he has created an impact with the 33-ball 55 in a recent win over Chennai Super Kings. The champions, in a middle of a strong season so far where they are second in the table, will be taking on Lucknow Super Giants next on Thursday and he wants to leave a bigger footprint in his second season.

“I wanted to be better than last year,’’ says the youngster. ‘’Whether you play a few games or many, it’s about hunger. This is the marquee tournament, if you don’t improve here, when will you?” he says. ‘’When I got to RCB first, I was curious about the experience. Watching Virat, Rajat (Patidar) and speaking to DK (Dinesh Karthik), I realised the game shifts here. It’s played at a high tempo; you have to be aggressive and brave,’’ said Bethell, who has whipped up a strike rate of 171-plus in IPL.

The fans in India, according to him are hands-on and can be extremely demanding. “Walking out with Virat, hearing the crowd, it was loud. You have to stay completely switched on,” remarked Bethell, who had been a Warwickshire man since 2021. “People here love talking about cricket. It’s more hands-on with more information shared. The passion and volume of cricket at a young age is incredible.” 

Asked to share his comments about the coaching group in RCB, Bethell remarked: “Andy (Flower) observes and speaks only when needed; you listen when he does. DK is excellent at spotting things and identifying scoring areas quickly.” 

Flower, a former England coach, underlined Bethell’s potential when he said: “My first sight of Bethell was in the Under-19 World Cup, a very talented batsman with real flair. We targeted him straight away. He’s got a mature cricketing brain and won’t be cowed or bullied by anyone, which is a trait you see in top players.

‘’ One of the key skills at this level is filtering information well, and he does that exceptionally. The IPL and RCB environment will stand him in really good stead, I expect great things from him. He’s ready not just to compete with the best, but to thrive in that company.”

Looking back on his journey so far, Bethell reflected: ‘’I grew up in Barbados, always with a bat and ball. Around 10–12, I started taking it seriously. I moved to England for school, progressed to Warwickshire and signed my first contract in 2021. A stress fracture set me back but I came back strong, earned an England call-up and then arrived in Bengaluru.” 

How does he enjoy the star boy adulation so far? “The limelight is a funny thing, life is still the same but when people want to watch you play, it’s a privilege. I don’t know how many people in India would be calling me starboy. It’s pretty incredible,” he added.

From being dropped from BCCI central contracts’ list for not playing domestic cricket, out of favour for the T20I set-up since end 2023 to be the new T20I captain for India in two years’ time – life has come a full circle for Shreyas Iyer. It had to come at the expense of Suryakumar Yadav who led the country to a successful title defence in the last T20 World Cup only in March, but it’s difficult to counter the fact that his lean run with the bat for more than a year had been a serious cause of concern.

The high-profile selection meeting in Mumbai on Saturday gave a seal of approval to the buzz for the last couple of days that it was end of the road for SKY. One probably did not bargain for the fact that the 35-year-old, a former world No.1 T20 batter who dominated the format between 2022 and 2024, would not even make the side – and this is where the ever-smiling Surya would probably feel shortchanged.

Commenting on the succession of plan after naming the squads for T20I series against Ireland, England and the Asian Games, chief selector Ajit Agarkar responded:  ‘’It’s a tough one, having just won the World Cup but as it happens after most World Cups, you try and reassess what your best way forward is. Partly his (Surya’s) own form, but also looking at the next two-year cycle, or a little bit more than two years now till the next World Cup, we thought this was the best way forward. Like I said, Shreyas is a well-deserving captain.’’

An explanation, which is not without its share of contradictions though. If the powers that-be really considered the Mumbaikar as a ‘well-deserving captain,’’ how come Shreyas last played a T20I for India in December 2023?  Even before Shreyas led Kolkata Knight Riders to an IPL triumph in 2024, he was often considered a potential white ball captain when the rebranded Delhi Capitals showed a resurgence under him between 2020 and 2023

Despite being ignored for the T20I set-up time and again, including the last Asia Cup last year when Shubman Gill entered the fray as vice-captain, Shreyas plundered runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home and then the ICC Champions Trophy last year. Ever since crossing over to Punjab Kings in 2025, the Sarpanch – as he is nicknamed as for the swagger in his walk – Shreyas didn’t let the captaincy affect his game as he scored 603 runs in 17 matches in 2025 IPL with strike rate of 175.07 while in the season just gone by, Shreyas accumulated 498 runs with an unbeaten 101 vs Lucknow Super Giants (168.81).

Interestingly enough, it remains to be seen how the chemistry between the new T20 captain and the authoritarian Gambhir pans out in the coming months. There have been unconfirmed reports in the media that while Agarkar backed the choice of Shreyas, the head coach threw in his weight behind Sanju Samson. The later also had considerable experience of captaincy with Rajasthan Royals and had been in a dream form during the last World T20, but then Shreyas finally seems to have got his due after a long wait.

Meanwhile, the powers that-be found it impossible to ignore Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s claims anymore as the 15-year-old became the youngest ever player after Sachin Tendulkar to be named in senior India team in any format.  Tendulkar made his Test debut at 16 years and 205 days and his ODI debut at 16 years and 238 days. Washington Sundar, meanwhile, is India’s youngest T20I debutant, having won his first cap in that format at 18 years.

The selection committee also confirmed that Yashasvi Jaiswal will step in for Virat Kohli - who has pulled out of an upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan at home due to a hamstring injury.

India plays Ireland in two T20Is in Belfast on 26 June and 28, followed by five T20Is in England from 1-11 July.

T20I series vs Ireland: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

T20I series vs England: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

2026 Asian Games squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

India A squad for multi-day matches in Sri Lanka: Dhruv Jurel (C & WK), Sai Sudharsan, Ayush Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal (VC), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Saransh Jain, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Yash Thakur, Anshul Kamboj, N Jagadeesan (WK), Aman Mokhade, Shaik Rasheed, Zeeshan Ansari.