The 2026 Indian Premier League season ended with Royal Challengers Bengaluru becoming only the third team in tournament history to successfully defend their title, with a dominant victory over Gujarat Titans in the final.
But beyond RCB’s emergence as the league’s newest powerhouse, the season also sparked debates about the balance between bat and ball, the diminishing impact of spin on increasingly flat pitches, and the growing challenge of keeping contests competitive in a high-scoring era. At the same time, teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi emerged as the breakout star of the tournament, while veterans Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar showed their enduring value on the biggest stage.
In this episode of In Focus, we discuss the biggest talking points of the 2026 IPL season.
Guest: Amol Karhadkar, deputy editor, sports
Host: Reuben Joe Joseph
Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
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Published – June 01, 2026 04:43 pm IST
