India’s legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026-winning Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Bhuvneshwar Kumar should’ve been named ‘Player of the match’ and ‘Player of the tournament’. The orange cap-winner Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was named ‘Player of the tournament’ whereas Virat Kohli was adjudged ‘Player of the match’ for his unbeaten 75 in the run chase against Gujarat Titans (GT). But, Ashwin wanted Bhuvneshwar to get both awards for his exceptional bowling display throughout the tournament and the final.
"Bhuvneshwar Kumar was just fabulous throughout the tournament. For me, he should be the Player of the Tournament and should also have been the Player of the Match," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel after RCB’s five-wicket win over GT to win their second consecutive IPL title.
In the final, Bhunveshwar dismissed GT opener Sai Sudharsan with a short delivery. He kept a lid on runs in the powerplay overs. With the old ball, he got the wicket of Jason Holder in the penultimate over. He conceded 29 runs from four overs.
Bhuvneshwar loses purple cap to Rabada
Bhuvneshwar would've got the purple cap had he taken one more wicket in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. From 16 games, he claimed 28 wickets at an average of 17.89. He conceded runs at 7.95 runs per over, an impressive feat considering the batting-friendly conditions often offered in the league. He lost the purple cap to GT's South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada who bagged 29 wickets from 17 games.
Kohli’s performance in IPL 2026 final
In the run chase of 156, Kohli got off to a flying start in the powerplay and scored his career's fastest IPL fifty from 25 balls. He anchored the run chase and remained unbeaten for 75 off 42 balls as RCB got over the line with 12 balls to spare. He hit nine fours and three sixes, including the one to finish the match in style. He also finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the season.
Sooryavanshi’s stellar run in 2nd IPL season
‘Player of the series’ winner Sooryavanshi amassed 776 runs from 16 appearances at an average of 48.50. His strike rate of 237.30 was unmatchable. He scored a century and five fifties. On a few occasions, including two playoffs games, he was dismissed in 90s.