How RCB built their WPL juggernaut, from auction to winning hit

"Tournaments aren't won at the auction, but you can certainly lose them there."

Malolan Rangarajan, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach, echoed after his team's WPL 2026 victory the same belief he had held since November's mega auction. There may be an element of hindsight now, but the urgency was real then.

Just two days before the auction, a call from Ellyse Perry confirming her unavailability made it clear to Malolan that RCB would have to rustle up a Plan B quickly.

Perry was one of the team's four retentions, which meant RCB's budget to construct their 2026 squad was down to INR 6.15 crore. UP Warriorz, in comparison, had INR 14.5 crore having retained just one player.

In one of their first meetings, a brief one with captain Smriti Mandhana pressed for time following India's historic maiden Women's World Cup triumph, RCB's direction became clear.

This is what Mandhana told Malolan: "We've already invested heavily in our batting. Our auction plan has to be about building the best bowling attack we can. And if we can find batting within that, even better."

That thinking sharpened further as the auction drew closer. It crystallised into a plan where RCB went hard for allrounders and gun overseas fast bowlers.

They went all-out for Lauren Bell, on the recommendation of Anya Shrubsole, their new bowling coach. And she reposed RCB's faith by becoming their bowling MVP, bowling the most dots of any bowler in WPL 2026, and creating powerplay impact of the kind Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar made during RCB's title-winning IPL run last year.

The quest for allrounders led RCB to bid aggressively for Nadine de Klerk, whom they signed for INR 65 lakh. Her impact proved crucial in their very first game against Mumbai Indians (MI), with de Klerk following a four-wicket haul with a match-winning, unbeaten 44-ball 63.

Her innings came after RCB had slumped to 65 for 5. She finished the game in a blaze of glory, taking down Nat-Sciver Brunt when RCB needed 18 off the final over.

De Klerk finished the season second on ESPNcricinfo's MVP list, which factors in context for every performance. Only Gujarat Giants' (FF) Sophie Devine, whom RCB had bid aggressively for, going up to for INR 95 lakh, ranked higher.

It was poetic that de Klerk was at the crease when Radha Yadav hit the winning runs in the final.

Radha, who hit back-to-back fours to clinch the title, was another key piece of RCB's jigsaw. She was far more renowned for her left-arm spin than her batting before this season, and her highest score in T20s coming into WPL 2026 was 27. But Malolan and RCB had received excellent feedback from scouts who had routinely seen her take down attacks in domestic cricket.

RCB knew why they were bidding for her. And when they got her, they gave her a crucial middle-order role to somewhat make up for Perry's absence. Their early team combination - with Linsey Smith preferred over Georgia Voll among the overseas options - meant the batting was a little thin. This is when Radha announced herself, with an incredible 66 to muscle RCB to a match-winning total against GG, from the ruins of 43 for 4.

This backing took shape pre-season when RCB went the extra mile to work on Radha's batting.

"With Radha, I think that's where even the scouting, plus Smriti knowing her, helps," Malolan says. "When you lose out on someone like Perry, you start thinking of solutions. So with Radha, if not bowling one day, we knew we could use her batting. And there's a lot of trust. The other thing is having a good support staff, coaching staff. Our batting coach, RX Murali, worked extensively with her."

With Radha busy in the aftermath of the World Cup win, RCB knew their preparation time with her would be limited. They reached out soon after the auction, spelling out the role they saw for her and outlining the areas she needed to work on even before she joined the squad.

Because Radha couldn't come down to Bengaluru to train, RCB went to her, and facilitated sessions that laid the foundation for the impact she had as a batter, including in the final when she was under pressure with RCB needing eight off four balls.

"When she couldn't come, we rented out BKC grounds [in Mumbai] and did a lot of simulation work with her," Malolan says. "Putting her in various situations, batting at No. 5. If there's pace, how would she react? If we're 10 for 3, how she'd counter. If it's the last over, what areas she'd target. So she's worked on her power-hitting also a lot."

Along the way, Radha also had to channel the disappointment of not being picked in India's white-ball squads for Australia.

"I had a chat with her the day after the team was announced," Rangarajan said. "Anybody is going to be disappointed. But the good thing with Radha was she was clear of her purpose here. So while there was disappointment, she was more clear about what she needed to do and what's required of her here in RCB.

"And that's precisely what she told me. All of that happens, but 'I'm here, and there's a job. RCB has given such a big opportunity.' Full credit to her, the way she's turned up for training every day.

"I call her a coach-killer. She says she needs to bat for half an hour, and ends up batting for two hours. The whole group is like that. Smriti, Radha, Arundhati [Reddy], Shreyanka [Patil], all of them. They're now bonafide and certified coach-killers. But very happy for Radha."

Shreyanka Patil was coming into the season after a layoff that nearly stretched for 15 months. She had grown increasingly anxious about her readiness, but RCB showed a giant leap of faith by retaining her even before she'd gained full fitness.

"No words can describe how I felt," Patil says, of her reaction to Malolan's call to inform her of her retention. "Someone who hasn't played for 13 or 14 months, and they still trust you and say, 'We'll back you because your skill is up there' ... it gives so much confidence.

"I was overthinking before that. 'What if I'm not retained, which team will I play for?' All those thoughts were there. After the call, I rang Arjun [Dev, her personal coach] sir and just started crying. I didn't even know what I was feeling. It was just so much love and belief."

Patil was RCB's heartbeat through the middle overs for much of their campaign. She even picked up her maiden five-for in a match-winning effort against GG.

Pooja Vastrakar was another player on the mend from injuries for over a year. Whoever turned up at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for rehab invariably had one question for her: "When are you leaving?" Multiple injuries pushed her to the limit. And then, when she thought she would spend another season on the sidelines, RCB picked her at the auction.

At the time, RCB had been told Vastrakar would be ready in two weeks. It took nearly a month, but Vastrakar eventually joined the group ahead of the Vadodara leg of the WPL. She featured in two games, both as a specialist batter, and went from being on the fringes to being a WPL champion, impressing the coaches with her work ethic.

Vastrakar's limited availability opened up an unlikely spot for Sayali Satghare, who had gone unsold at the auction. When she was informed she'd be replacing Perry, she couldn't believe her ears. On paper, this seemed an odd choice. A rookie India seamer was replacing a legendary allrounder - something didn't seem to add up.

But RCB knew what they were doing. There was clarity that their overseas combinations would feature de Klerk, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith or Georgia Voll, and Grace Harris. Picking another overseas player to warm the bench wouldn't serve any purpose.

By then, RCB knew Vastrakar couldn't bowl yet. So they went for an Indian seamer, and brought in Satghare. She immediately made an impact, picking up eight wickets in her first three games, proving to be an able new-ball partner to Bell.

No team had chased down a 200-plus target until WPL 2026. No team other than RCB has done it yet. RCB pulled off the feat twice this season, setting a new WPL record while gunning down 204 in the final.

RCB's belief that they could chase down outlandish targets didn't emerge from nowhere. It came from Grace Harris, who had only one mandate from her team. To go hard without worrying about getting out.

The belief was further amplified by Richa Ghosh, who injected a wave of belief when she walloped an unbelievable 50-ball 90 after RCB were reduced to 35 for 5 in a chase of 200 against MI. She hit 10 fours and six sixes, and RCB fell short by just 16 runs in the end. Their next-best score that night came from de Klerk, who made 28.

Ghosh didn't do much else of note with the bat over the season, but that one knock sparked the kind of belief that no target was too daunting.

Voll had a middling season too, but provided the spark in a trailblazing partnership in the final with Mandhana. Voll's innings in the final felt like the symbolic passing of the Australian baton from the now-retired Alyssa Healy.

Mandhana and Voll will be on opposite teams in less than 10 days' time, plotting each other's downfall. But on Sunday, they revelled in a 165-run partnership for the ages.

Throughout the tournament, Voll brewed coffee for Mandhana and the rest of the team. On the eve of the final, she joked that Mandhana would need to get her a special cup in return. Both played key roles in RCB getting their hands on that special cup.

Voll hadn't been part of RCB's original first-choice combination, but the team management eventually found a way to bring her in.

"In Baroda, we realized that the pitch is working in a particular way," Malolan says. "Our bowlers are bowling well. We were saying, 'We have this particular balance, could we bring in another batter to unlock our batting even more?' And at that time, Sayali made it very easy, made that decision look like it was delayed.

"We knew conditions in Baroda would be different to DY Patil. So, adaptability was key. And making that tough call on Linsey Smith had to be taken. But again, she was a champion.

"And with Voll also, she started well in the tournament. She ended well. There was this brief period in between where she didn't get the runs she would have liked, but she trained extraordinarily well. And that's all you can ask for as a coach."

Beyond the big stars, the campaign was as much about the development of the rookies. Like Prema Rawat, the legspinner whose two crucial fours in the opening game were her only contribution in a season that she largely sat out.

Gautami Naik, a product of RCB's off-season scouting, became the WPL's first uncapped Indian half-centurion. Pratyoosha Kumar didn't get a single game, but Harris made a mention of her during a team speech, commending her spirit and willingness to give her "heart and soul" at training, fully knowing opportunities may not come. It spoke of the camaraderie within the group.

These were the strands that wove RCB's title run together: different heroes on different nights. As important as Mandhana was - she finished as the tournament's highest run-getter and played a match-winning innings in the final - there wasn't one single performance that defined RCB's campaign.

The title was the cumulative effect of the players coming together to make the RCB think-tank's vision and planning take shape on the field.

The spinoffs from a successful campaign like this - RCB's third title in three years across the IPL and WPL - have sparked interest in ownership from several quarters, with the parent company having explored the possibility of a strategic review and a potential sale they hope to complete by March 31.

With each passing day, speculation has grown louder about new potential buyers queuing up. Thursday's title, even by the most conservative estimate, will have nudged RCB's valuation upwards by a few million dollars. If this does turn out to be the final tournament under the current RCB ownership, what a way to go.