Did RCB Have an Unfair Advantage Over GT in IPL 2026 Final? Sunil Gavaskar Speaks His Mind

RCB retained the IPL title they won in 2025 after defeating GT in the final. Chasing 156 to win, the team under Rajat Patidar cruised to a five-wicket win with 12 balls to spare.

This was GT's 2nd final loss in three appearances across five seasons.

Should the Final Have Been Postponed?

However, according to Sunil Gavaskar, the final could have been postponed by one day to make it 'little fair' for GT. While his comments did come ahead of the summit clash, the words have greater context now as GT lost. The weather delayed GT's arrival in Ahmedabad.

"Yes, definitely. Make no mistake, players require rest. You didn't know when your flight was taking off, so there was anxiousness, which means you are mentally also off apart from the physical toll," Gavaskar said while speaking to India Today.

"So, I thought with a reserve day in place, considering what happened was completely unexpected, they could have pushed the final to tomorrow, just to be a little fair to the Gujarat Titans team," he added.

How the Weather Delayed GT's Arrival

RCB reached Ahmedabad on May 27, a day after beating GT in Qualifier 1. GT then had to go to New Chandigarh for their Qualifier 2 game on May 29 vs RR which they won. On May 30, they were scheduled to fly to Ahmedabad via chartered flight in the afternoon. But bad weather as a result of rain and storms in the area delayed their departure. GT ended up reaching Ahmedabad at 10.30 pm, less then 24 hours before the summit clash. This reduced their time to prepare for the game.

Of course, that takes nothing away from RCB. At the end of the day, they outplayed their opponents in every department and it was barely a contest. The game was won in the powerplay both with ball and bat. GT missed out on a 2nd title and Shubman Gill will have to wait for his 1st title as captain in the IPL.