After winning the previous edition of the competition, RCB has dominated this edition of the IPL as well. Virat Kohli is not the only reason behind this stupendous success, there are many other factors at RCB’s disposal as well.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended their 18-season long wait to win IPL 2025. Under the leadership of their captain Rajat Patidar, RCB won their first IPL trophy. However, on the other hand, RCB did not start 2026 with the same players that led them to their first title.
Josh Hazlewood and Virat Kohli were two of the major contributors in the last season of the IPL. However, Hazlewood did not start the 2026 season for the Royal Challengers, as the star Australian pacer has been ruled out of the early stages due to injury.
Three factors that led to RCB’s early success in IPL 2026
1. Team balance
Barring Virat Kohli as an opening batsman, Royal Challengers Bangalore have several other players who have dominated in their roles. Phil Salt added excitement to the batting line-up in the powerplay.
Devdutt Padikkal has been the most eye-catching player in RCB’s batting setup. On the other hand, captain Rajat Patidar has been aggressive with players like Tim David and Jitesh Sharma.
Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya adds quality to their spin bowling department, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar adds experience to the team. Although famous names are not included, RCB’s bowling deck looks balanced with a good mix of youth and experience.
2. Role clarity and the Dinesh Karthik factor
A big factor for the Royal Challengers in the IPL is the clarity their players have in their respective roles. The clarity of role between players like Phil Salt and Virat Kohli was seen in the last game against Chennai Super Kings.
When Salt failed to take on the CSK bowlers in the powerplay, Kohli attacked from the other end while Salt took charge after his dismissal. Even the middle-order players are clear about their specific roles.
Dinesh Karthik had promoted Tim David in the last game and he played a match-winning innings for RCB. Karthik is known for his vision and it seems to be working well for the Challengers so far this season.
While Padikkal has been the attacker many times, Patidar has also left no stone unturned in destroying the attack of the opposition. The depth in their unit has given these players the freedom to score runs freely.
3 – Bowling Upgrade
RCB had all the batsmen from the previous edition but lacked two qualities in the bowling department. Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal were not included for them, and RCB have replaced them with new options in Jacob Duffy and Abhinandan Singh.
While Singh has been good at bowling yorkers at times, RCB have completely understood his inexperience and have used him mainly in the middle overs. Duffy’s seam movement and bounce off the track has helped the RCB team.
Suyyash Sharma has been used in the death overs and the leg spinner has surprised everyone with his economical spells, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s experience has once again proved useful for him in the death overs.
Also Read: Akeal Hosein joins MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis on CSK injury list amid IPL 2026
