The rise of RCB across the IPL makes the WPL feel closer to the Manchester City model

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are the reigning IPL and WPL champions. New Delhi: For years, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been the great romantics of Indian cricket.They had stars. They had a fan base. They had moments. What they didn’t have were trophies. RCB reached the IPL final in 2009, 2011 and 2016 and fell short. For 18 years, fans have watched teams built around icons like Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli come agonizingly close, only for the title to remain out of reach. RCB has become synonymous with promise rather than success, passion rather than silverware.That is why what has happened in the last three years is so remarkable.With the IPL 2026 title secured in Ahmedabad on Sunday, RCB have now won back-to-back titles.Meanwhile, their women’s team can take credit for leading the way by winning the Women’s Premier League (WPL) title in 2024. The Smriti Mandhana-led team won two trophies in three years in February.Fast forward to May 31 and the franchise that once bore the brunt of underperformance now sits atop both of India’s premier T20 leagues.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Gujarat Titans to win back-to-back IPL titles.

The transformation was not sudden. It was structural.The old RCB often looked like a team built around star power. The new RCB looks like a system built on systems. Recruitment is smarter. Roles are clearer. Dependence on one or two superstars has decreased. Success is no longer expected to come because of individual brilliance; it is designed using team depth, planning and continuity.That shift can be seen across both teams.The WPL side got there first. While in the early years of the WPL, teams struggled to understand team building or even the longevity of the competition, RCB constantly built a core, supported leaders and created an environment where players could thrive. Subsequent titles were more a reward for patience than a consequence of short-term approaches.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Delhi Capitals to win WPL 2026 – their second title in three years.

The men’s team has followed a similar path ever since Rajat Patidar took over from Virat Kohli.The emotional weight of finally winning the IPL title in 2025 could have easily led to complacency. Instead, it became the foundation for lasting excellence. Defending a title is often more difficult than winning. Yet RCB bounced back in 2026 looking less like the defending champions and more like a team convinced they belong at the top.This mindset separates champions from dynasties.Football offers examples. FC Barcelona’s golden era with the men’s team and the Femeni was not defined by a single trophy, but by a culture that repeatedly produced winning teams. In recent times, Manchester City’s men’s and women’s teams have become consistent title challengers as the club’s philosophy extends across the organization and is not limited to one team.

Manchester City Women won the Women’s FA Cup 2026 after beating Brighton. (Getty Images)

The rise of RCB is closer to this model.For perhaps the first time in franchise history, the men’s and women’s teams were aligned. Both sides reflect similar principles: a belief in long-term planning, strong leadership groups, and a willingness to prioritize balance over glamour.For most of their existence, RCB lived in the shadow of their own narrative. Each season was accompanied by reminders of heartbreak, near misses and unrealized potential. The franchise has become a talking point for opponents and a test of loyalty for supporters.Now those conversations have changed.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru joined Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in winning back-to-back IPL titles. (OR)

Young fans grow up knowing RCB not as perennial underdogs but as serial winners. The franchise identity is being rewritten in real time. Memories that once focused on what might have been are increasingly being replaced by celebrations of success.

What do you think has contributed more to RCB’s recent success?

From cricket’s almost men to the standard bearers of Indian franchise cricket, RCB have completed one of the most significant transformations the IPL era has seen. And with titles now flowing from both their men’s and women’s teams, the franchise is no longer chasing history.He does it.