The wait is over, and the ‘Ee Sala Cup Namde’ chants have finally transformed into a triumphant reality. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) enter the IPL 2026 season not as the perennial underdogs or the almost team, but as the defending champions. After a historic 2025 campaign where they clinically dismantled Punjab Kings in the final to lift their maiden trophy, the narrative in the Garden City has shifted from hope to expectation. Under the shrewd leadership of Rajat Patidar and the tactical mastery of head coach Andy Flower, RCB have shed its image of a top-heavy, volatile unit to become a balanced, winning machine.

As we approach the 2026 season, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is buzzing with a different kind of energy. The pressure of breaking the jinx is gone, replaced by the formidable challenge of building a dynasty. With a squad that balances the evergreen brilliance of Virat Kohli with the explosive middle-order depth of Phil Salt and Jitesh Sharma, the question on every RCB fan’s heart is simple: Can RCB defend their title and make it two in a row?

RCB’s quest for the second title in IPL 2026

Defending an IPL title is a feat only achieved by the elite, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. For RCB to join this exclusive club, they have doubled down on stability. Unlike previous years where the franchise often hit the reset button, the 2026 strategy has been about surgical reinforcements. By retaining 17 players from their championship-winning squad, the management has signalled total faith in the chemistry that brought them glory in 2025.

The addition of Venkatesh Iyer for a whopping ₹7 crore at the auction is a masterstroke designed to provide the tactical flexibility RCB has lacked for a decade. With Iyer, the team gains a bridge between the top and middle order, as well as a medium-pace option that allows them to play an extra specialist bowler if needed. The goal is clear: don’t fix what isn’t broken, but reinforce the walls to withstand the inevitable counter-attack from the rest of the league.

RCB’s SWOT analysis for IPL 2026

To understand if RCB can truly replicate their success, we must dive deep into the four pillars of their current ecosystem. This SWOT analysis breaks down the internal and external factors that will define their 2026 journey.

Strengths:

• The “Kohli-Patidar-Salt” reliability: Kohli remains the heartbeat of the team, coming off a solid 2025 season where he played the anchor role to perfection whereas Salt is known for his intent blast in powerplay. Alongside them, Captain Patidar has matured into a leader who leads by example, often playing the high-impact knocks under pressure that were once RCB’s Achilles’ heel.
• The finisher’s vlub: With Jitesh, Romario Shepherd, and Tim David in the mix, RCB possesses one of the most terrifying death-overs lineups in the league. This depth allows the top order to play with more freedom, knowing there is significant firepower to follow.
• Death bowling mastery: The resurgence of Yash Dayal and the veteran experience of Bhuvneshwar Kumar provide RCB with a rare luxury domestic pacers who can nail yorkers in the final three overs at the Chinnaswamy.

Weaknesses:

• Lack of Wrist-Spin Variety: While Suyash Sharma is a brilliant find and a genuine wicket-taker, the squad is remarkably thin on leg-spin backups. In a tournament as long as the IPL, an injury to Suyash could leave a massive hole in the middle-overs wicket-taking department.
• The fragility of the pace attack: Josh Hazlewood is a world-class operator, but his history of fitness issues is well-documented. If Hazlewood or the newly signed Jacob Duffy aren’t available for the full season, the burden on the Indian domestic pacers might become unsustainable.

Also READ: “Anil bhai at 8…”: Virat Kohli names his greatest RCB playing XI featuring iconic leg spinner ahead of IPL 2026

Opportunities:

• U-19 World Cup prodigies: RCB struck gold at the mini-auction by picking up stars like Kanishk Chouhan and Vihaan Malhotra. These youngsters, coming fresh off a successful U-19 campaign, offer the X-factor that often wins games from nowhere. Chouhan, in particular, is a versatile all-rounder who could be the breakout star of 2026.
• The impact player tactical edge: With a squad full of versatile all-rounders like Iyer and Krunal Pandya, RCB is better positioned than most to exploit the Impact Player rule, allowing them to switch between a batting-heavy or bowling-heavy XI based on the toss.

Threats:

• The weight of expectation: Being the hunted is harder than being the hunter. Every team will have a specific blueprint RCB strategy this year. Managing the psychological shift from being the team trying to win to the team expected to win will be Patidar’s biggest test.
• Chinnaswamy’s volatility: While it is their home, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium remains a graveyard for bowlers. One or two bad nights at home can quickly derail momentum in a league where the margin between the top four and the bottom four is razor-thin.

Also READ: Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium gets green light to host IPL 2026 opener and final

Malaysia’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup ended after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) awarded 3-0 forfeits in two matches for fielding ineligible players, a decision that confirmed Vietnam’s progress from Group F.The AFC said the action was taken after Malaysia used players who were not eligible during the final round of qualifiers. “The defendant fielded ineligible players in the relevant AFC Asian Cup 2027, (Qualifiers Final Round) matches,” the AFC said in a statement. The Kuala Lumpur-based body also fined the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) $50,000.With the forfeits applied, Vietnam now holds a six-point lead at the top of the group, making it impossible for Malaysia to catch up. The final group match between Vietnam and Malaysia on March 31 will no longer affect qualification.“Although the match no longer holds decisive significance for the final group standings, it is still expected to be a noteworthy contest,” Vietnam’s football federation said.The development follows an investigation by FIFA into Malaysia’s use of foreign-born players. The probe focused on a 4-0 win over Vietnam in June and a 2-0 victory against Nepal in March last year. Both results have now been overturned.FIFA found that the players had obtained naturalisation through forged documents and did not have Malaysian parentage or ancestry. According to the governing body, three players were originally from Argentina, two from Spain, one from the Netherlands and one from Brazil.The players involved are Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca and Joao Brandao Figueiredo.In its findings, FIFA’s appeals committee said the offence “strikes at the very foundation of football’s integrity”. It held both the players and FAM responsible, stating that the seven players “negligently used and benefitted from the forged documents” while FAM’s “inability to establish accountability reflects systemic governance deficiencies and a lack of genuine commitment”.

File photo: Argentina’s President Javier Milei (Picture credit: AP)

Argentina has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO), its foreign minister announced on Tuesday, becoming the latest country to leave the UN health agency after the United States took the same step earlier this year.

Buenos Aires completes exit after earlier announcement

As per news agency AFP, the government of President Javier Milei had first announced its intention to quit the WHO a year ago, accusing the global body of mishandling the Covid-19 pandemic.Argentina’s foreign ministry said the withdrawal process has now been completed within the timeframe required under international treaties.Foreign minister Pablo Quirno confirmed the move in a post on X, saying: “Argentina will continue to promote international cooperation in health through bilateral agreements and regional forums, while fully preserving its sovereignty and its capacity to make decisions regarding health policies.”

Milei government repeats criticism of WHO

The Milei administration has been sharply critical of the WHO’s role during the pandemic.Last year, Argentina had declared that “the WHO’s recommendations are ineffective because they are not based on science, but on political interests.”The formal withdrawal underlines President Milei’s hardening stance toward multilateral institutions and aligns Buenos Aires more closely with the policy direction taken by the United States under President Donald Trump.

Move mirrors US exit under Trump

Argentina’s decision follows the United States, which formalised its own withdrawal from the WHO in January.The US exit came a year after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pull Washington out of the UN health body after returning to the White House.Milei has been seen as a close ally of Trump, and Argentina’s move is likely to draw wider international attention because it mirrors Washington’s break with the Geneva-based organisation.

Why the WHO matters

The WHO has historically played a central role in major global public health campaigns, including the eradication of smallpox and responses to threats such as polio, HIV, Ebola and tuberculosis, according to AFP.WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had earlier expressed concern over the US withdrawal.In January, Tedros said he “deeply regretted” Washington’s exit and warned it would make both the United States and the rest of the world less safe.Argentina’s departure now raises fresh questions over the future of global health coordination, particularly as countries continue to debate sovereignty, science and the role of international institutions in responding to future pandemics.