Uncertainty to clarity: When winning became the standard at RCB

When Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally ended their 18-year wait for an IPL title in 2025, relief was the dominant emotion. Yet even amid the celebrations, Mo Bobat, RCB's director of cricket, was already looking beyond the breakthrough.

"If we were to only win or push for it once in this cycle, we'd probably feel like that's an underachievement," Bobat told Cricbuzz last year. "All our attention will go to trying to hunt down a second IPL trophy and try and hunt down back-to-back wins."

Twelve months later, those words sound less like ambition and more like a blueprint.

RCB's second successive title was secured with a level of authority that stood in contrast to the uncertainty surrounding their maiden triumph. As Bobat and head coach Andy Flower reflected after the latest success, the story of this team did not begin in 2025 – it began in failure.

"I suppose when Andy and I first joined and we had a first year that was a season of two halves and pretty challenging," Bobat said. "Then we had the benefit of a mega auction and a reset, having learned some really strong lessons."

Those lessons came during a turbulent 2024 campaign. RCB's dramatic late surge into the playoffs has become franchise folklore, but the management remembers the season for something else: clarity.

"Definite differences between 2025 and 2026 campaigns, but I would also mention 2024 because that was instrumental in setting out a determination to do things differently," Flower said. "The very tough first half gave us real clarity about certain strategic things we wanted to employ, and it gave us the courage through desperation to take those measures."

The difficulties forced hard conversations. The mega auction that followed presented an opportunity to act on those convictions. Alongside a significantly reshaped squad came another major decision: handing the captaincy to Rajat Patidar.

"The opportunity to introduce Rajat as a new captain felt like a blank slate for us," Bobat said. "Having come through a really good auction, we were very ambitious and optimistic about what we could do."

The optimism was built not purely on talent but on character. "We were clear on what we were trying to build in terms of team structure and the attributes and characteristics we wanted from players – a combination of skill and character," Bobat said.

The common thread in recruitment was reliability. Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, Phil Salt and Tim David became central pillars alongside retained players like Virat Kohli and Patidar.

"It's obvious when anyone looks at our squad that we've massively valued experience across key roles," Bobat explained. "I once heard a phrase used about another elite sportsman that always stuck with me: the pressure moments find them. We've got quite a few players where pressure moments gravitate towards them."

For all the planning, RCB had never crossed the finish line before. But Flower and Bobat deliberately chose not to view that history as baggage.

"We've had 2025, where we were walking into the unknown a little," Flower said. "I sort of reframed it in my head – the fact that RCB had never won a trophy meant it was less pressure for me coming in because there was a clear route upwards towards something that hadn't been done before."

That mindset became a recurring theme. "I never came here or felt like we wouldn't achieve the elusive first trophy," added Bobat. "I always had it in my mind that once we won that first one, we needed to not settle. Like any sports team, you want to have an infinite goal you're always striving towards."

"Last year through the season, it felt like something we had to achieve and tick off that first milestone. This year has felt quite different – from the moment we finished last season, we've pushed people to be ambitious about going again. There's been a deeper confidence amongst the player group, which comes from success."

The challenge was to ensure success did not alter the franchise's sense of purpose. Bobat placed particular emphasis on finishing in the top two "because the 14-game group stage is quite gruelling. If you can put yourself in a position to finish top two, everybody knows what that means for your chances."

The pursuit of standards, rather than trophies alone, became the defining feature. "A more healthy thought process is to immerse yourself in how you want to play your cricket," Bobat said. "We take a lot of satisfaction from how the public are enjoying watching us play. You have to trust that the way you want to play, the environment you create, the way you care for people and the togetherness you have means the success and trophies become inevitable."

Creating that environment has perhaps been Flower's greatest contribution. He repeatedly returned to the importance of players outside the playing XI.

"It's really important to look after people," he said. "Those players that aren't playing all the time still need to feel valued and as if they're progressing themselves."

Flower pointed to Venkatesh Iyer as the ideal example. Despite spending large periods outside the first-choice XI, he remained prepared and contributed whenever called upon.

That philosophy extended to leadership too. Rather than moulding Patidar into a more conventional captain, Flower and Bobat encouraged him to lean on his natural qualities.

"When I got a new role in 2025, I was pretty clear that I don't have to change myself," Patidar said. "That's what Andy and Mo told me. Be yourself."

That, coupled with the experience throughout the squad, explained what many observers noticed: calmness. The nervous energy that accompanied the maiden title charge had largely disappeared.

"This year has felt a little bit different – there's a deeper level of confidence in our squad," said Flower. "That deeper confidence comes from testing yourself against good opposition or in challenging circumstances and proving to yourselves that you're able to thrive in that high-pressure environment."

For years, RCB's story revolved around what they lacked. Under Flower, Bobat and Patidar, the conversation has shifted. The breakthrough title of 2025 answered one question. The successful defence in 2026 posed another: what happens when a franchise that spent nearly two decades chasing history starts expecting success?

Bobat's words from a year ago now read like the mission statement for this era. The first trophy was never supposed to be the destination – it was merely proof that the journey was heading in the right direction.