BENGALURU: In a marathon T20 season, even a brief break can act like a reset button. For Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the time off could not have arrived at a better moment. After a seldom-seen dip at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium earlier in the campaign, the franchise now prepares for its last league assignment at home on Friday, aiming to ensure the pause refreshed their rhythm rather than disrupted it.
“It’s quite nice to have a few days off after the last game, especially because it didn’t go the way we wanted,” said Mo Bobat, the director of cricket for RCB. He spoke about how the interval gave the group a chance to step back, regroup and return with a clearer mindset for the week ahead.
During the break, RCB also used the time to keep the wider squad involved. “On the third day, we ran a session with a lot of the lads who haven’t been featuring. A week like this is a good moment to give those boys some attention and time in the middle,” Bobat added, highlighting the value of staying connected across the entire playing group.
The director stressed that in a competition as long and tightly contested as the IPL, sitting near the top does not automatically bring comfort. “It’s pleasing to have four victories. Obviously, we’d rather not have the two losses,” he said, pointing to how quickly fortunes can swing in the league stage.
Bobat also underlined the volatility of league positions. “You can win one match and climb a lot, or lose one game and slide down. We’re not obsessing over the table—we just want to win our next game,” he said, framing their approach as focused and match-by-match.
Rajat Patidar has been central to the calm, decisive tone within the squad, and Bobat credited him for helping RCB maintain steadiness. “We set our plans with aggressive intent, but Rajat makes the calls out in the middle and he’s very good at it,” Bobat said. “One of his biggest strengths is how composed he is. Even when things get messy, he still trusts his instincts.”
With this home match marking RCB’s final fixture in Bengaluru for the season, the team also understands the transition that follows. “We’ll be on the road quite a bit after this,” Bobat said. “We won’t get to see much of Bengaluru, which is a bit of a shame,” he added.
