Ahmedabad, May 31 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said his successful time in IPL 2026 has been built on simple routines and fitness work, adding that he ‘hasn’t really done anything that I could call rocket science,’ while sticking to his strengths.

Bhuvneshwar has been one of the standout performers for defending champions RCB this season by claiming 26 wickets in 15 matches to help the franchise reach the IPL 2026 final, where they will take on Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

“Look, it would be very easy for me to say that I did something different, but honestly, I haven’t done anything different. Generally, the focus remains, if I talk individually, that you want to do well. But my attention is always on what things I should be doing, the things in which I can do well.

“Those include things like practice and fitness. And if we talk about bowling, I also tried to work on that before coming here. But yes, the effort was simply to keep doing the same things that I have always done, to keep paying attention to my strengths. I haven’t really done anything that I could call rocket science. The things have been quite simple,” said Bhuvneshwar in a pre-final chat with the broadcasters.

On his preparations for this IPL, Bhuvneshwar explained the fitness work he’s put in to operate at his optimal best. “During the off‑season I don’t play a lot of cricket, so somewhere I got a full opportunity to focus on fitness. What are the things that are generally needed in this format, because it is a very fast format and fitness is very important.

“Generally, we talk about the gym, but running is equally important because you have to run a lot on the ground along with bowling. So these were the things I paid attention to. My seniors also focused a lot on good things, and I think these are the things that I have applied.”

Bhuvneshwar further said RCB has not changed its approach for back‑to‑back finals appearance. “Honestly there hasn’t been any discussion because we know it’s a final. The way we have played, we deserved to come here.

“But we haven’t talked about doing anything different from what we did throughout the tournament, because we know it’s a final, it’s a big match. If we win, we’ll win the trophy. But we want to keep doing the same things that we have done throughout the tournament, the very basic things.”

On facing GT at their home ground, Bhuvneshwar remarked the pressure to excel will be more on them. “Yes, we have lessons from it, but what matters a lot is how the wicket behaves – whether it will be the same or not. But of course, it’s their home ground.

“I think they will have more pressure because it is their home ground. They know the conditions and they would want to keep things under their control. But I think this is a one‑off game, a final game, a pressure game. So I don’t think it is going to make a huge difference.”

On bowling to an in-form Shubman Gill, Bhuvneshwar said, “It definitely will be. I won’t talk only about Shubman. Their other batsmen are there as well. Their top three – the team depends quite a lot on them, and they are scoring runs. So yes, absolutely, planning is done and execution will happen, but let’s see whose day it turns out to be.”

–IANS

nr/