New Delhi, March 12 – Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has described the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash between five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as the biggest match among the first 20 games.
The schedule for the first phase of the tournament, to be played from March 28 to April 12, was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday. The 19th edition of the lucrative event will begin with defending champions RCB hosting SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
“It’s going to be a packed stadium, and you want to see these superstars. The quality of cricket you're going to get in this match, in terms of bowling, batting, and six-hitting ability, you won't see a bigger match than this. And it's understandable too. Rohit Sharma, the way his form has been over the last two years, has been magnificent,” Pathan said on JioStar.
With RCB veteran Virat Kohli set to play for the franchise for the 19th consecutive year, Pathan said he is looking forward to seeing how the former India and Bengaluru captain approaches batting.
“But I’m really looking forward to Virat Kohli’s style and approach while batting. He will also be very confident. Rajat Patidar's form has been a bit inconsistent in domestic cricket, but he will now return as an IPL-winning captain. Jitesh Sharma was also left out of the Indian team, but before that, he also played some good innings. And then, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's bowling. So, in terms of quality cricket and the atmosphere at the Wankhede Stadium, I think this is the biggest game on the schedule so far,” Pathan added.
Pathan also shared his thoughts on Sanju Samson representing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the first time in their opening game against his former team. The World Cup champion was traded from Rajasthan Royals (RR) to the Yellow Army ahead of the auction, with Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran joining the Jaipur-based franchise.
“Sanju Samson’s presence will make a big difference for CSK because no one knows Rajasthan Royals better than him. From that perspective, you will get inside information from Sanju about how the team plays, how they approach the powerplay, the middle overs, their mindset, and even their bowling.
“All the youngsters in Rajasthan Royals have played with and under Sanju, so he will be a huge advantage for CSK, not just in terms of the form he will carry from the T20 World Cup, but his experience playing in Guwahati will also be useful in the first game. I am very excited to see how CSK perform this season because they have brought in some very exciting young players,” Pathan noted.