IPL 2026: RCB Just Want To Continue Doing The Right Things, Not Thinking Too Far, Says Krunal

IPL 2026: RCB just want to continue doing the right things, not thinking too far, says Krunal (Image Source: IANS)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya has refused to look too far ahead despite his side's emphatic nine-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals on Monday, insisting the only currency that matters in the IPL is continuing to do the right things.

The empathic win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium also helped RCB retain their position in the standings, with six league games still to play. "The beauty of this league is every team has some world-class players. So you can't think that far ahead in the tournament.

“It's a very cliche thing, we all say that follow the process, trust the process. But, that only thing works. So, we are not thinking that, I mean, too far. Again, technically, just 60 percent of the games have been played and there are still more six league games to go.

“We just want to continue doing the right things more often than not. Just stick to the process and just how can we win those small battles where eventually, you can get the desired results, what you want. But, I mean, we are not thinking that too far,” said Pandya in the post-match press conference.

With defending champions RCB tightening their grip on a playoffs berth, Pandya reminded how the side still has to work hard for its wins. "Right now, we are just thinking that how can we reach Ahmedabad (for the clash against Gujarat Titans) and be fresh for the game. I have always felt it's a team game. For me, winning trophies is the ultimate goal because I always believe personal milestone fades away. But trophies build legacy. So, I have always played this sport to win trophies.

"When you are playing personally, right, you have to believe that you have the capability as a team and as an individual to win that. So, yes, I mean, but again, nothing comes easy in life. You just have to grind and work hard to get what you want."

The evening also marked another milestone in Virat Kohli's remarkable IPL career – of being the first batter to reach 9000 runs - and Pandya was generous in his admiration for the talismanic batter.

"Virat Kohli has been one of the greatest who has played, right? Obviously, the achievements he has in the last 15-20 years, since he has been playing in 2008, it has been unbelievable. I have said this before, to have that sort of consistency, and the hunger he has, I mean, kudos to him. He has changed the way people see the sport, right?

"From a fitness point of view, he has been the flag-bearer of that, how the fitness culture has come in India, in terms of that. Obviously, as an individual, when you achieve a milestone, you get 100 percent satisfaction that you have seen the result of all the hard work you have put in for so many years.

"So, whatever hard work we all do, we want that result. Obviously, he has so many achievements in his life, so I haven't asked him how he is feeling because he has achieved so many things in such a big career. I hope he continues in the same way, and wins more matches for us, and gives happiness to everyone," he elaborated.

Much of the attention has been on Pandya's bowling, who picked 1/9 in New Delhi, though Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood were the main wreckers in chief on Monday. The side-arm slinging balls and the bouncer he has introduced this season - an unconventional addition to a left-arm spinner's repertoire that has begun attracting attention around the competition, with RCB batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik calling him a trendsetter.

"Obviously first of all, coming from DK means a lot. Someone who's played so much of cricket and coming from him means a lot. I introduced the bouncer because every year the opposition prepares against you - what you did right and wrong. So it's more of a mental game as well sometimes, with skill set. When I came here last year, I had a very good season with RCB.

"So I was just thinking, what else can I add? Or which thing can I add so that I can be one step ahead in the mental game against the batter. So with that thought process, I introduced the bouncer and with that, I bowl in the low-arm trajectory. So it is something which, you know, I guess it's more sort of bouncing for a spinner, it's not that easy.

"But a lot is dependent on how fit you are because, it's difficult to come two steps ahead and bounce at pace. But my action is like that and I've not been scared of trying new things. I've always taken it as a challenge. Although, there are a lot of times in IPL where there are match-ups and left-hander batsman is batting, so left-arm spinner can't bowl.

"So I took it as a challenge, that it's not like that. Let me try something new and let's see how it goes. So far it has worked and I guess a lot of people have started copying it and DK is saying trendsetter, I like it."

The origins of that bouncer, it emerged, stretch back not to any high-performance coaching facility but to the time when Pandya played games in villages, much before his breakout time in IPL and India colours came in 2012/13.

"The boundaries there were very small. So, if you used to bowl conventional left-hand spin there, you would get beaten up a lot. So, actually, this thought process and mindset came to me many years ago. So, there I learned bouncer, wide yorker, everything.

“Then, obviously, when I started playing IPL, the way my role in the team was to contain, I was able to contain. So, I never felt that I have to add new things and all of that. But this year, it felt like, in the last 2-3 years, because of the impact player, the way the batsmen are batting, sometimes, when you are standing on the run-up, it feels like, where should I bowl, as every ball is a sixer.

“So, thinking about that, I added the bouncer. Like I said, I didn't practice a lot of short balls in nets because it takes a lot of effort to bowl in the net. So, I have preserved myself to bowl in the match. But a lot of things depend on fitness."

Pandya was equally expansive on the role fitness plays in allowing a bowler to evolve and experiment. "I have always kept fitness as a priority, because I feel when you are young, your body recovers very well, you don't realise that much. But when over a period of time, food, fitness is a very integral part for any athlete because sometimes, when you want to evolve your game, you know mentally. But because your body is not that fit, it doesn't allow you to do it.

"But fitness adds value, when you want to change something, and you want to adapt something new, your body allows you to adapt new things. So, yes, I have always emphasised and focused on fitness, which helps me to add new things - whether it's about the bouncer, or the bowling while bending.

"I have always said that Malolan (Rangarajan), our spin bowling coach, he also gets a lot of credit because I feel that when I came to RCB, my role changed. I got the liberty to go for wickets and can experiment. That trust was there, in a way. So that sometimes really helped, because as a player, if the coach is backing you so much, and the coach is giving you so much confidence, that 100 percent helps.

"Over a period of time, I like this responsibility of going for wickets, and I can try my new things, which I like it, because it's not just to look cool, that I have put a bouncer - there is a lot of logic and reasoning behind it as well, that why I want to bowl that. So there is a healthy discussion, and yes, Malo also takes a lot of credit for that, where he has allowed me to be myself."

Pandya reserved his warmest words for RCB captain Rajat Patidar, whose calm temperament has been a defining influence since the championship win in 2025. "I mean, the way Rajat has led the team, it has been amazing. The best part of Rajat, what I have realised is that he gives confidence to the players and he allows them to be themselves in the game.

"Over a period of time, I like this responsibility of going for wickets, and I can try my new things, which I like it, because it's not just to look cool, that I have put a bouncer - there is a lot of logic and reasoning behind it as well, that why I want to bowl that. So there is a healthy discussion, and yes, Malo also takes a lot of credit for that, where he has allowed me to be myself."

"Obviously, there are a lot of senior players in our team. A lot of credit goes to the support staff as well. The way Mo, Andy, DK, Malolan, Omi, how they have operated with the team, a lot of credit goes to them. All credit goes to Rajat also and how he has been able to lead the side consistently so well."

Article Source: IANS