IPL 2026: 'Five frontline bowlers' - Irfan Pathan's suggestion for RCB ahead of high-octane LSG clash

Irfan Pathan gave his verdict on the Lucknow Super Giants’ clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

The former India all-rounder believes that the defending champions will have to be wary of the Super Giants, with the recent theme in the IPL being the top teams’ losses to teams in the bottom half of the table.

"Bengaluru are playing after a long break. Lucknow, on the other hand, recently played a good match in terms of batting against Mumbai. If I am in the Bengaluru camp, I would not take Lucknow lightly. RCB should be cautious because the way the lower teams are beating the top teams, it can trouble you as well,” he said, speaking on his YouTube Channel

He pointed out that Romario Shepherd’s role as the sixth bowler has been an area of doubt, as the defending champions had to bring in Venkatesh Iyer as the impact sub in their collapse against the Gujarat Titans, leaving them unable to use Rasikh Dar, their designated fifth bowler. Pathan questioned whether Romario Shepherd can be used as the impact player due to his batting.

"Can Bengaluru consider keeping Romario Shepherd out and going with five frontline bowlers? They can bring him when they need an extra batter because they are anyway using Venkatesh Iyer as the impact sub. But by doing that, they have had to keep a bowler out. Suyash was left out in one match, and Rasikh in another. Keep five bowlers right from the start. Romario Shepherd will give you something with the bat and ball, but if you top order clicks, Rasikh can also bat down the order," he added.

Spin to play a big role: Pathan

Speaking of particular matchups, Pathan highlighted Krunal Pandya’s dominance over Aiden Markram. The South African batter has been dismissed thrice in eight balls by Krunal, scoring just four runs in that span.

"Bring Krunal Pandya into the attack as soon as Aiden Markram comes to bat. He has dismissed him thrice in eight balls. RCB will definitely have to do this. This matchup has to be used well," he stated.

The former India all-rounder believes the Super Giants should bring in Digvesh Rathi for this clash. Rathi has picked up just three wickets in six games this season, going at an economy of 9.37. Despite this, Pathan believes Rathi can be a solid matchup against RCB’s finisher Tim David.

"I think they should go back to Digvesh Rathi against this team. He brings some mystery, and it can be a good matchup against Tim David,” he said.

The two sides are meeting for the second time in the season. They met at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 15, with RCB bowling LSG out for 146 on a slow wicket. They chased it down successfully, but lost five wickets in the process.