Former India cricketer R. Ashwin has revealed the five people who have been crucial in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) transformation and IPL dominance. This came after RCB won the IPL 2026, defeating the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final on May 31 in Ahmedabad.
While players like Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the club's mainstays, a few others worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to propel the team to its current position.
When Ashwin selected five individuals who made the most contributions to RCB's success, Kohli's name stood out due to the sacrifices he made despite being an "alpha."
"RCB can even go on to achieve a three-peat. GT [Gujarat Titans] can be extremely proud of themselves, but for this run chase, I want to credit five people: Andy Flower, Mo Bobat, Dinesh Karthik and his support staff, Rajat Patidar, and Virat Kohli," Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Rajat Patidar had joined the RCB team in IPL 2022 and missed the 2023 season due to injury. He was named captain of the side in IPL 2025 and led the side to their first IPL trophy after 18 years of waiting. Then in IPL 2026, RCB repeated the feat and became the third team after CSK and MI to win back-to-back trophies.
Virat Kohli had captained the RCB from 2013 to 2021 and stepped down, after which Faf du Plessis took over as captain and led the side from 2022 to 2024 seasons. Ashwin was astounded to watch how Kohli, the ultimate alpha, moved to the back of the line so Patidar could take the lead.
"The way Virat Kohli took a backseat—he went to the back of the queue and allowed Rajat to lead, becoming a mentor and a big brother to the team... despite being the ultimate alpha, he still did this. Royal Challengers Bengaluru has been a heartbeat for Virat Kohli. For 17 or 18 years, they didn't win a single trophy.
This has given all of us a wonderful lesson through the sport and through the IPL: you might not win for 17 years, regardless of how hard you work. But when the opportunity to win arrived in the 18th year, they went all the way and won it. Then in the 19th year, they were the defending champions and successfully became defending champions once again. Now, a hat-trick of titles is also entirely possible if they have a bit of luck," Ashwin said.
Ashwin, who just finished his playing career, also praised Director of Cricket Mo Bobat and RCB head coach Andy Flower for creating a wonderfully balanced team.
"Andy Flower builds a great squad wherever he goes. In every team, he picks a reliable defensive bowling option, a quality wrist spinner, and a good variety of fast bowlers, some who can swing the ball and others who can hit the deck hard. His template has remained completely consistent. If anyone wants to understand how to achieve success, just look at the way Andy Flower has managed teams, whether it's the Trent Rockets or anywhere else he goes; he sets up the squad the exact same way.
Mo Bobat has collaborated with the backroom staff to build a team where Dinesh Karthik brings the local knowledge. If you remember, it is not only the men's team; the RCB franchise has simultaneously defended both their women's title and their men's title. Four trophies in a matter of two years. It's not easy. It is quite amazing, and no amount of praise for these two would be enough," Ashwin asserted.
