Smriti Mandhana said a week-long break for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Goa will help the team recharge ahead of the WPL 2026 final against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara.
RCB last played on January 29 and enjoyed a break on the beaches of Goa. The players were able to relax in their own way – some partied, some sunbathed, some played golf, while others, like Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav, danced. Mandhana took it all in, along with stand-ins Arundhati Reddy and Sayali Satghare, who joined the team in place of Ellyse Perry.
The 29-year-old Mandhana explained that after playing back-to-back matches, the team needed a break to refresh and recharge, which helped them regain their energy and focus ahead of the high-pressure final.
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“Yes, it was very important. Six days of thinking about cricket, who is coming, what is going to happen and so on. It is better that we left for the first two or three days. It was a good break for all of us because of course there were a lot of back-to-back matches in the first three days,” Mandhana said at a press conference ahead of the final.
“RCB PRACTICE EXTREMELY HARD”
Mandhana, who has scored 290 runs from eight matches, said that after relaxing in Goa, RCB have been training hard to prepare for the final. She added that just sitting in their hotel rooms without cricket for a week would not help the team.
“But again, to come back on February 2nd, 3rd and 4th, to come back to practice extremely hard, that’s something that was most important for this team. And I’m really glad that everybody took such a break and enjoyed it together and came back very fresh.”
“And I’m looking forward to the final again because sometimes sitting in a hotel room and not doing much can cause a lot of thinking. So I’m glad we had such a break and RCB took us to Goa,” added Mandhana.
RCB are looking to break the streak as no team that has finished on top of the league table has won the WPL. In 2023, 2024 and 2025, the Capitals topped the table but finished second – losing once to RCB and twice to two-time champions Mumbai Indians.
This season, RCB secured their place in the playoffs by winning their first five matches and cemented the top spot with a win over UP Warriorz in their last league match.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
February 4, 2026
