Patidar opens up on India captaincy talks, Gill reflects on return to T20I team: 'I'd be happy if I get picked'

The IPL 2026 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans is set to take place tonight, with both captains speaking ahead of the blockbuster clash in Ahmedabad. The defending champions RCB face a strong GT side in what is expected to be a tightly contested title decider.

With just a day to go before the summit clash, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar and GT captain Shubman Gill addressed the media in Ahmedabad, where both spoke not only about the final but also about discussions surrounding India selection and possible return.

Patidar said he has never visualised himself as India’s T20 captain when asked about a possible role on the cards in the future. Discussions around Patidar's leadership and national selection have grown over the past couple of months after another successful campaign with RCB.

"I haven't visualised myself as India's T20 captain. But every captain wants to win trophies. We won one last year, but this is a new season. You can't keep talking about what happened in 2025. You have to stay in the present and focus on what you can do now to win another title," Patidar said.

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Patidar on building IPL legacy

Patidar also spoke about building a legacy in the IPL as a captain after ending RCB's drought last year and qualifying for back-to-back finals. He further underlined RCB’s approach this season, saying the group is not thinking in terms of defending a title but rather starting from scratch.

"I've never thought about what other captains have done before or whether I want to compete with someone. As an individual, my journey has had its ups and downs, but I've never focused on that [captaincy, legacy]," he said.

"To be honest, I don't think we've changed much. The mindset is the same. We're not thinking like defending champions. We don't see it as defending something we won in 2025. It's a new season and a new opportunity. Our mindset is that we're here to win another title," Patidar added.

Gill on his T20I return

On the other side, Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill also spoke about expectations and his ambitions around his return to the T20I side. Gill dismissed concerns about pressure playing in Ahmedabad, saying familiarity with the venue is actually an advantage rather than a burden.

"I'd be happy to play if I get picked for the [India] T20 team, but honestly I want to keep working on my game, doesn't matter what format it is. I want to keep getting better as a T20 batsman, as an ODI batsman, as a Test batsman. Cricket is such a game, you can never really get perfect [at it], but obviously you can strive for it and that's what I try to do," Gill said.

"Honestly, I don't really get burden of expectations. You know, there are advantages. That's how I see it. There's familiarity when we play there. We know the wicket and the ground. So we know what kind of cricket we need to play there to be able to win. So in that context, I see it as an advantage because there's a little bit of familiarity," he said.