“Whoever comes as owners, RCB have now set a template” - Former Indian cricketer

Former Indian cricketer and analyst Mohammad Kaif has asserted that RCB will not make any major changes to their squad ahead of the IPL 2026 retention deadline, which is set on November 15.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif made it clear that RCB has one of the power-packed squads going into the mini-auction after spending more money on their bowlers instead of putting more on batters at the IPL 2025 mega auction.

"I think the best thing about RCB from last time was how they performed in the auction. They appointed a new captain and his bonding with Virat Kohli was also good. What hadn’t happened in the team's history before, happened the previous time. Bowlers had more say in their title victory. Whether we talk of Krunal Pandya, Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal. Bhuvneshwar Kumar displayed his good form. So, RCB have understood to spend as much money on bowlers as they do on batters,” Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

For the unversed, RCB had an exceptional batting and bowling unit in the IPL 2025 season as they went on to win the silverware for the first time in the 18-year tournament history. Moreover, there are rumours of RCB having new owners for the upcoming IPL 2026 season.

Kaif went on to reckon that despite there is a talk of having new owners onboard for the new season, RCB will not change its winning template as they already have good enough match-winners in their squad.

"Whoever comes as owners, RCB have now set a template that Kohli bats at the top and Tim David plays as a finisher. They brought Phil Salt – Kohli and Salt gave good starts. Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya aren’t that big names but Pandya proved himself as a match-winner with the bat. He also performed well with the ball," he concluded.

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