A defining slice of action from Qualifier 1 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala offered a snapshot of how far Royal Challengers Bengaluru have evolved. Rajat Patidar was on 16 from 11 balls and RCB were already two wickets down when the Gujarat Titans briefly sensed a crack. Jason Holder struck with a two-wicket burst, and Rashid Khan tightened the screws from the other end, leaving the Bengaluru batters looking hemmed in. That is the unforgiving rhythm of T20 cricket: the game can feel effortless with boundaries coming at better-than-a-run-a-ball, then suddenly becomes heavy and slow after a couple of dismissals—especially when momentum flips so quickly.
From there, a few fielding slips from the 2022 champions only made the moment more dangerous. Patidar didn’t just take advantage; he dismantled Gujarat’s plans with ruthless efficiency. Shubman Gill and Ashish Nehra were left searching for answers after the brief wobble, and there was added context too—earlier in the season in Ahmedabad, Patidar had been targeted with short-ball tactics and dismissed early. This time, Gujarat had no Arshad Khan in the mix, and the short-ball strategy collapsed under the weight of Patidar’s intent. He launched a sustained assault to finish unbeaten on 93 off just 33 deliveries, sending RCB toward their second consecutive IPL final.
That stunning surge, along with the way RCB’s season has unfolded, naturally raises the bigger question: how did this side get from where it once stood to this point?
How RCB rebuilt from the inside out
For 17 years, RCB have lived the role of cricket’s eternal romantics—beloved, dramatic, and repeatedly falling short. While many franchises built their identities around silverware, Bengaluru often assembled a gallery of stars. Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen, and Rahul Dravid are names that defined eras, but the missing ingredient was a consistently complete team—one that could translate individual brilliance into sustained tournament success.
The shift didn’t begin at the auction table, though. Mo Bobat, a former England performance director, joined the franchise in 2023 as director of cricket, and a year later Andy Flower arrived as head coach after his role in a T20 World Cup-winning set-up. Dinesh Karthik, a veteran wicketkeeper-batter, was also brought in as batting coach, adding another layer to the franchise’s attempt to refine how it develops and executes skills.
The most visible change came through a departure from the superstar-first blueprint. Ahead of the mega auction, RCB retained only three players—among them Kohli and Patidar—freeing the franchise to pursue something it had often undervalued: elite bowling. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood were brought in, and together they have formed what many see as an exceptionally well-balanced new-ball combination. Even with talk that Bhuvneshwar’s peak might be nearing its later stages, he has reignited conversation about an India return following two outstanding IPL seasons. Hazlewood, meanwhile, has fit seamlessly into the role of the ideal strike partner—precise, intimidating, and complementary.
Batting was also reworked rather than simply rearranged, and Kohli’s evolution sat at the heart of that transformation. For years, his T20 conversations were dominated by strike rate charts and efficiency metrics, but around the middle of 2024 he leaned into what modern T20 batting increasingly demands. A brutal encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad is described as the turning point, after which Kohli moved from a careful accumulator into a powerplay aggressor. The effect has been immediate: his strike rate this season is above 164, the highest of any IPL campaign in his career.
Patidar, for his part, has been trusted to steer the middle overs with a blend of control and calculated aggression. Around him, RCB have constructed a supportive framework that includes vice-captain Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, and Krunal Pandya—an option whose role has kept evolving, and who has quietly become one of the franchise’s most important all-round pieces.
Another reason the team’s rise has felt structurally different is depth. When Phil Salt was sidelined, RCB leaned on Jacob Bethell. When Bethell also became unavailable, they didn’t cling to familiar constraints at the top; they backed Venkatesh Iyer to take on the early role. That kind of flexibility is something earlier RCB teams rarely offered in a sustained way.
Bobat has explained the mindset behind these changes with a directness that matches the franchise’s new tone. “When an organisation hasn’t achieved its main goal for 17 years, you have to ask why,” he said. “And you have to have the humility to look at your own failings. RCB had a history of relying heavily on a few icon players, and the team’s performance depended on those players performing well. We wanted a more even distribution of talent and experience to give ourselves a better chance of building a championship-winning team.”
It’s also clear that this trust between captain and management is deeper than strategy alone.
Patidar’s captaincy, by most accounts, looks noticeably different from the typical RCB script. When leadership was handed to him last year, there were questions everywhere, along with speculation about whether Kohli might return to the role. Patidar absorbed the noise without letting it affect his focus, keeping attention firmly on the cricket itself. He has largely left the wider strategic thinking to Flower and Bobat, while the management has responded with frank self-assessment—especially when things haven’t gone their way.
When RCB struggled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium last season, they didn’t dodge responsibility or hide behind excuses. Instead, they reviewed what was needed to bat and bowl in Bengaluru, then rebuilt the plan accordingly. The turnaround was immediate. After losing three of their six home games in the previous season, RCB improved to four wins in five matches at Bengaluru this year.
There’s also Karthik, whose impact doesn’t always get the same spotlight as Flower’s presence. After spending years polishing his own finishing craft as a batter, he now applies the same discipline from the dugout. His approach includes one-on-one work with players—reading their strengths, identifying the areas they need to attack or protect, and helping them prepare for pressure situations rather than merely react to them.
Krunal gave a window into that work after his match-winning 73 against the Mumbai Indians, describing how, beneath RCB’s calmness during tense phases and the clarity of their decision-making, Karthik’s relentless behind-the-scenes preparation played a major part.
Can RCB go again and win back-to-back?
That is the pressure point Bobat posed to the group when the side regrouped before the season began: “Why can’t we be the third team to do it?” Only two franchises have previously defended an IPL title—Chennai Super Kings in 2011 and Mumbai Indians in 2020. Now RCB stand one step away, already with two straight IPL finals behind them and a trophy secured in their campaign. Just as importantly, the team’s energy doesn’t carry the look of satisfaction; it carries hunger.
When Flower took over, he spoke about building something special within the franchise. Whether RCB lift the trophy again this season or not, the direction of travel is clear—and it’s difficult to argue that the ambition hasn’t already been delivered in spirit, structure, and results.
