"Everyone would panic" - Former RCB star makes eye-opening revelation about franchise’s earlier mindset in IPL

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Mohammad Kaif made a major revelation about the mindset of the franchise over the years in the IPL. He revealed that batters would have a lot of respect early on as compared to bowlers.

RCB was known to be a batting-heavy team that always struggled to find the right balance when it came to their bowling. Kaif revealed there would be panic when bowlers did not do well, which led to chopping and changing. He highlighted how teams like the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were successful because of their mindset.

"There was a lot of respect for batters there before. People talk about Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, and Virat Kohli as always. They kept changing bowlers if they didn't do well in one or two games when I used to play. There would be long meetings. Everyone would tell them why you did this, did that. Everyone would panic. Then you do not understand anything. MI and CSK have won five times, these two panic very little and play the same team even if they win or lose. Things may have changed a bit now, though," he said on his YouTube channel.

However, in the last season, where RCB won their maiden IPL title, a major shift in mindset was seen. They had a balanced team and did not make many changes, maintaining stability throughout the tournament. Kaif reckoned that the change had come for good as even bowlers got enough backing from the management.

"Even Kohli has gotten out on zero but he is a great batter. He knows to come back and gets the chance. But many players did not get that chance as there would be changes constantly. This change in RCB has come for the good because they are making a team of bowlers now. Bowlers have been told their roles clearly and the plans are very clear too with backing," he added.

Kaif particularly gave the example of two bowlers, Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma. The two spinners were given clear responsibilities and were backed right through the season. They delivered as well, playing major roles in their triumph.

"Krunal Pandya and Suyash, the way they have been backed, this has never happened before. No one has been backed how players have been this time in their history," he stated.

The Bengaluru-based franchise ended a 17-year wait for their maiden IPL trophy. They beat the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in the final.

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Mohammad Kaif heaps massive praise on RCB captain for utilising Krunal Pandya well

As RCB were lacking a potent and experienced spinner, they took a bet on all-rounder Krunal Pandya, acquiring the left-arm spin all-rounder for ₹5.75 crore during the 2025 auction.

Captain Rajat Patidar made excellent use of Krunal with the ball. Being a left-arm spinner, not many would have bowled him left-handed batters. However, Kaif highlighted that Patidar did not go behind match-ups and gave him overs against left-handers as well. He heaped massive praise on Patidar's captaincy.

"With Krunal, they did not see match-ups and he bowled against left-handers as well, got them out too. That is why he became big there. Patidar did not see these match-ups, which is why I praise his captaincy too, because he knew we could win the tournament only by taking these chances. I would say Patidar made Krunal what he was last season. He used him smartly. Good captains find ways and many captains do not know this and just go by match-ups. The timing that he picked to bowl Krunal was brilliant. His form was brilliant throughout and we saw it in the final as well," he said.

Notably, Krunal had picked up only 15 wickets in 29 matches across two seasons for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) before he moved to RCB. In IPL 2025, he played a massive role in their triumph. He bagged 17 wickets from 15 matches, including a 'Player of the Match' performance with figures of 2/17 from four overs in the final.