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by IANS |
New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has labelled the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash between five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) and defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as the biggest game among the first 20 matches.
The schedule for the first phase of the tournament was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday, to be played from March 28 to April 12. The 19th edition of the cash-rich event will commence with defending champions RCB hosting SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
“It is going to be a houseful, and you want to see these superstars. The quality of cricket that you are going to get in this match, in terms of bowling, batting and six-hitting ability, you won't get to see a bigger match than this. And it is understandable too. Rohit Sharma, the way his form has been for 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 that he is looking forward to how the former India and Bengaluru skipper approaches with the bat.
"But Virat Kohli, I will be really looking forward to the style and the approach he bats with. He will also be very refreshed. Rajat Patidar’s form has been a bit lean in domestic cricket, but he will now return as an IPL-winning captain. Jitesh Sharma was left out of the Indian team, but before that, he played some good knocks as well. And then, Bhuvneshwar Kumar in bowling. So, in terms of quality cricket and the atmosphere at the Wankhede Stadium, I think this is the biggest game of the schedule as of now,” Pathan added.
Pathan also shared his thoughts on Sanju Samson gearing up to represent 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 heading to the Jaipur-based franchise.
“Sanju Samson’s presence will make a lot of difference for CSK because no one knows Rajasthan Royals better than him. From that perspective, you will get inside information from Sanju about how that team plays, how they approach the powerplay, the middle overs, their mindset and even their bowling as well.
"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 the experience of playing in Guwahati will also come in handy for him in the first game. I am very excited to see how CSK are going to fare this season because they have brought in some very exciting young players," Pathen noted.
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