Winning the IPL took Royal Challengers Bengaluru eighteen years. Defending it has never been done in a way that makes the second title easier than the first — and Anil Kumble, who knows the franchise, the format and the pressure of expectation better than almost anyone, is not about to pretend otherwise.

“It’s not going to be easy for Rajat Patidar’s RCB to win back-to-back titles,” Kumble said plainly on JioHotstar this week. “Only CSK and MI have managed to win trophies on a continuous basis before.” That is both a historical observation and a calibration of what the next 16 weeks will actually feel like — because every team in the IPL 2026 season now treats RCB as the benchmark, and every coach has had since March 2025 to figure out how to dismantle what Patidar built.

RCB open their 2026 title defence on March 28 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, against Sunrisers Hyderabad — a team with Pat Cummins leading a bowling attack that has spent the off-season studying exactly what RCB’s top-order weakness looks like.

The Patidar Question: A Captain Nobody Expected

When RCB named Rajat Patidar as captain for IPL 2025 — bypassing the obvious choice of Virat Kohli — the reaction in Indian cricket was one of genuine surprise. Kumble captures that surprise honestly.

“When he was announced as skipper, many of us were surprised because everyone expected Virat to handle the duties again. But the team management decided to go with Patidar, and it paid off,” Kumble said. “He only had experience of captaining Madhya Pradesh and did well in domestic cricket. He was identified as the skipper, and with the experience he had, he led really well.”

Patidar, born in 1993 and a product of Indore’s domestic cricket conveyor belt, is the kind of captain who leads with composure rather than charisma. His instincts under pressure — settling on bowling changes, holding his nerve when Kohli is at the crease and taking pressure off the senior players — were one of RCB’s less-discussed competitive advantages in 2025. In Kumble’s assessment, the USP that made him successful is the same one that will be tested hardest in 2026.

“He looks very composed and calm under pressure. That is his USP. Now it will be challenging because expectations will be high,” Kumble noted.

Kumble’s Predicted Playing XI: One Surprise, One Certainty

The most technically interesting part of Kumble’s analysis is his dissection of how RCB should structure their playing XI — specifically around the Venkatesh Iyer question.

Iyer was picked by RCB at the December 2025 mini-auction for ₹7 crore after being released by KKR — a significant markdown from the ₹23.75 crore KKR had paid for him in the IPL 2025 mega-auction, though his form across IPL 2025 had not justified that original bid. He brings left-handed batting flexibility and the ability to bowl medium pace, and his presence gives RCB options. But Kumble’s verdict is clear: he does not start.

“I don’t think Venkatesh Iyer will be part of the playing XI at the start. You would want the same starting eleven that helped you lift the trophy after 18 years. Devdutt Padikkal should play in the eleven. He missed the last few important games due to injury, but he is in outstanding form with the bat,” Kumble explained.

Kumble’s projected XI structure, including his specific thinking on overseas slots:

On the overseas question specifically, Kumble is emphatic about Tim David and Romario Shepherd: “It is a must for RCB to have both of them playing at the same time. Both can finish games really well with the bat. Shepherd also gives them an extra bowling option.”

The Bethell conundrum is real. The 22-year-old England middle-order batter-spinner was among T20 World Cup 2026’s most impressive performers — his 105 against India in the semi-final was one of the tournament’s great individual knocks, underlining the ability that already had IPL scouts tracking him through last year’s Big Bash and England white-ball season. His inclusion at RCB is a genuine coup. But with Phil Salt already taking one overseas batting slot, and David and Shepherd occupying two more, either Bethell or Hazlewood sits out in any given XI — and Hazlewood’s contribution of 16 wickets in 14 matches in IPL 2025 makes him very difficult to drop when fit.

“There will be a lot of talk about how Jacob Bethell fits into the eleven,” Kumble acknowledged, without offering a definitive answer. That selection dilemma — four strong overseas batting options competing for effectively two slots alongside a fit Hazlewood — is the most interesting tactical question RCB face in 2026.

The History That Makes This Hard

The statistical reality behind Kumble’s warning is straightforward. In 18 seasons of IPL cricket, only two franchises have won consecutive titles: Mumbai Indians (2019-2020) and Chennai Super Kings (2010-2011). Both did it with mature squads, experienced captains who had been through multiple title campaigns, and bowling attacks that opponents had not yet fully decoded.

RCB, for all their talent, are defending champions for the first time. Patidar is a first-time IPL champion captain. Kohli — whose 650-plus runs in IPL 2025 were the campaign’s backbone — is 37 years old and every opponent has now watched hours of footage specifically identifying how to contain him across 20 overs.

None of this means RCB cannot win. The squad is deep enough, the batting is long enough, and the combination of Hazlewood’s new-ball skill and Krunal Pandya’s experience through the middle overs gives them a bowling attack that has earned rather than inherited its reputation. But Kumble is right: the target is now painted on Rajat Patidar’s back.

How he responds to that pressure — the very quality Kumble says is his USP — will define whether 2026 becomes RCB’s second chapter or their cautionary tale.