'Champion teams try to replicate the same formula' - Aakash Chopra on RCB ahead of IPL 2026

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has stated that maintaining the winning formula would determine how successful Royal Challengers Bengaluru could be this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which gets underway on March 28.

RCB enter into IPL 2026 as defending champions after lifting their maiden IPL title in 2025. They will be looking to defend their title, but Chopra believes that they will have to get their winning formula right if they are to replicate the success of the 2025 season.

"Generally, there is a very interesting thing about the winning team, which is intangible. When the tournament starts, no one knows who will win. Everyone feels they would win, but as the season progresses, an intangible sort of thing happens, which keeps happening slowly on its own, and suddenly an atmosphere gets created where you think you are invincible," Chopra said in a video on his official YouTube channel.

"In the second season, you try and replicate that. It got created on its own the first time, and you try to manufacture it the second time. You cannot manufacture that feeling. Either it's there, or it's not there, and if it has to get developed, it happens on its own. The champion teams try to replicate the same formula and feeling again, which is not possible many times," he added.

Problems with RCB's bowling

The former India opener believes that Bengaluru could face issues with their bowling. Josh Hazlewood, who was one of their strike bowlers, will miss the initial phase of the tournament, while Yash Dayal will miss the entire season owing to personal reasons. He is also wary of Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma maintaining their performances from the last season, especially focusing on the latter.

"I do feel slight problems could come in bowling. I am already seeing that. Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma did very well last year. I thought it surprised everyone because I felt there was a slight weakness there for sure, but both, whether it's Krunal or Suyash, managed really well," he said.

"However, will they be able to do that the second year as well? If two or three matches don't go well, will you try to remove Suyash and get someone else? These are the questions that can pop up, and now, since Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal aren't there, there might be more pressure on the bowlers.

The cricketer-turned-commentator also believes that with the absences, the role of someone like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, the experienced pacer, will change. He notes the rise of Mangesh Yadav, who was signed in the auction for a whopping INR 5.2 crore, but is sceptical of whether he will be able to replicate the performances of Dayal.

“The role might change. You might expect Bhuvneshwar Kumar to play a different role. I have heard the new player, Mangesh Yadav, is very good. I am really hopeful that he will be good, but if you expect the same thing from him that you were expecting from Yash, it is not always an easy thing to do. So I definitely see a challenge in the bowling unit," he elaborated.

Notably, RCB will begin their title defence against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.