There we have it. It’s the moment that many have unabashedly waited for and since quite a while, especially since the battle to qualify for the IPL 2026 playoffs began interestingly and increasingly a close fight. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have made it to the playoffs stage, which is in the imminent future where the next few days stand. Not that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru did not stand a chance or looked in any way uncertain to make it that far as they have; after all they’ve been champions a season ago, last year in 2025. But with the intensity of the competition beginning to heat up and the level of close knit matches picking up, one did feel that maybe some of the other teams around the RCB would’ve made it a touch earlier to the Playoffs instead of RCB. But then, this team plays in a special way, doesn’t it?

And guess who’s congratulated the famed RCB side now that they are into the playoffs? Well, no prizes for guessing- it’s Vijay Mallya, the former team owner of the Bengaluru side and the man associated with the once iconic brand Kingfisher!  

Perhaps it’s only fair to say that cricket, after all, is such an emotional-fuelled and interesting contest that one tends to get drawn to a former association, even if that was some time back in the day. And that is precisely what happened with Vijay Mallya’s case. The following is how the once-famous business icon expressed his heartening feeling about his former team making it to the next round of the Indian Premier League:

“RCB, RCB, RCB namma dodda Simhagulu… you made us all soooo proud today - first team to qualify. You played BOLD and roared even louder as the Lions from Bengaluru. Well done and congratulations. Onward and Upward to the best team in the IPL.”

And that’s not too hard to understand why. The effusive praise is pretty much deserved on the part of the Bengaluru side. They’ve played a brand of cricket, which true to their fearless and ‘play bold’ philosophy has been exceptional. While they did go down in a few contests as far as the last few days go but some of their wins, whether against Hyderabad or Mumbai or the likes have been absolutely enthralling.

And ditto for the commanding batting form of Virat Kohli. Currently rank #2 on the list of this year’s Orange Cap holders! Moreover the batting form of Venkatesh Iyer is back and the team may well see Phil Salt returning to his stationary position up top! Things falling in place for the much loved outfit.