Teammate apologises to Bhuvneshwar Kumar for denying massive prize in IPL 2026 final [In Picture]

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate Devdutt Padikkal apologised to the pacer as he was denied a massive prize after the IPL 2026 final. RCB beat the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad to lift their second consecutive trophy.

After the final, Bhuvneshwar Kumar put up a post on his Instagram handle, saying 2026 is the new 2016. Notably, the pacer had won the IPL title with the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2016 and won the Orange Cap as well. This time around, he won the trophy with RCB, but narrowly missed out on the Orange Cap.

“They said 2026 is the new 2016. Maybe, they’re right! 😉🏆,” he captioned the post.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with 28 wickets from 16 matches at an average of 17.89 and an economy rate of 7.95. GT’s Kagiso Rabada won the Orange Cap, overtaking the RCB quick by just one wicket. Rabada finished with 29 scalps from 17 games at an average of 21.58 and an economy rate of 9.68.

In the final, Rabada picked up just one wicket, which won him the Orange Cap eventually, and that was of Devdutt Padikkal. Therefore, the RCB batter apologised to his teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar, for he would have won the Orange Cap if the two pacers were level on wickets, due to fewer games played and a better economy rate as well.

Nonetheless, Bhuvneshwar played a massive role throughout the season, helping RCB successfully defend their title. In the final, he returned figures of 2/29 from four overs, delivering another brilliant spell.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s huge role in RCB winning back-to-back titles

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was roped in by RCB ahead of IPL 2025 for ₹10.7 crore during the mega auction. With the veteran pacer being away from the Indian team and not playing a lot of cricket throughout the year, the move was questioned as well.

However, Bhuvneshwar displayed that experience always matters, filling the void of a lead pacer that RCB desperately needed. In the 2025 season, he picked up 17 wickets from 14 games at an average of 28.41 and an economy rate of 9.28. He ended as the joint second-highest wicket-taker for the team alongside Krunal Pandya.

The 2026 season saw him elevate his game, not only picking up more wickets but maintaining a better average and economy rate as well. In the two seasons so far, he has played a huge role with the ball in RCB winning back-to-back IPL titles.