‘RCB has always been my team’ - Andries Gous talks through how his gameplay suits M. Chinnaswamy Stadium [Exclusive]

In an exclusive conversation with CricTracker, Andries Gous shared his plans for a successful campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026 and admitted that the opening match against India will be special. Gous also spoke about the team’s strategy against India in their opening fixture.

The USA wicketkeeper-batter further revealed that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is his favourite team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), stating that the franchise suits his style of play. He also expressed his fondness for batting at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Excerpt from the interview

What would a successful T20 World Cup 2026 look like for Andries Gous—personally and for the team?

It's a hard one. I'm always a team-first type of guy. If we can win a few games, that would be awesome. It's way more important than me doing well. I would love to just be again one of the top performers in batting. It's something that I've got pretty high standards for myself. It would be fun if I could be able to score runs against India and Pakistan and the rest of our group teams. Who knows? It's a world-class team. Anything can happen.

Is there a bowling attack you’re especially excited to test yourself against in 2026?

I think the opening game when we play against India is going to be special. They are world-class. We do watch them on TV a lot. We see them a lot. I think they're really world-class. It's going to be exciting. Just because it's in India as well, the amount of fans and the way it's going to be so loud, it's going to be truly special.

You’re expected to face the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy in the T20 WC 2026. Your plans for the big game against India?

Obviously, they're really special. But for us, it's just to try and keep it as simple as possible. Don't play the name. Just play the ball. That's probably the most important thing. They're also human. They can also make mistakes. It's just important that we keep focussing on ourselves and not get too carried away with the event.

Have you received any advice from Indian legends like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after the game in T20 WC 2024?

No. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to speak to them. It was so busy, we had to leave for the airport immediately and stuff like that. So, I didn't get the chance to speak to them. It would have been nice if I had too. But yeah, unfortunately, I couldn't speak to them.

Which IPL franchise suits your gameplay the most and why?

Yeah, I've always been a fan of RCB just because Kohli and AB were playing there. So yeah, that's probably the one team that I've always been supporting. And also, batting at the Chinnaswamy would be really cool. It's a small field. The ball flies. So, that's quite nice.