“You’ve not done something right” - S Badrinath’s strong statement on two teams after IPL 2026 auction

Former Team India batter Subramaniam Badrinath believes the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) came out of the IPL 2026 auction as the two best sides. The two franchises entered the auction with little to do, having retained most of their core players.

While endorsing the other franchises' excellent buys, Badrinath added that having to make multiple moves at the auction is in itself a sign of going wrong before the bidding war.

When asked about the teams with the best auction, Badrinath told Star Sports (1:04):

"I think MI and RCB had the best auction. Because if you are very active in the mini auction, it means somewhere you've not done something right. That's why you are changing everything. So it starts much before, like who you retain. You should spend more in the mega auction and less in the mini auction. That's what the successful teams have done over the years."

He added:

"That way, MI and RCB entered the auction itself with swag, knowing they had everything set already. If there is a match tomorrow, these two teams could have played it without the auction."

MI and RCB were two of the best-performing sides last season, with the latter winning their maiden IPL title and the former finishing in the top three.

"Shows the luxury they've in the squad" - S Badrinath on RCB signing Venkatesh Iyer in the IPL 2026 auction

Subramaniam Badrinath praised RCB for their move to sign Venkatesh Iyer for ₹7 crore as a potential back-up to Devdutt Padikkal at No.3. The Kolkata Knight Riders had signed the southpaw for a whopping ₹23.75 crore in the 2025 auction.

However, they released him after Iyer endured a dismal IPL 2025 season, averaging under 21 in 11 matches.

"The fact that Venkatesh Iyer might be a backup shows the luxury they've in the squad. They are a well-settled unit. They didn't need to do much. Whatever fillings they needed to do, they did it to perfection. It was deja vu with KKR and RCB going after Venkatesh Iyer again," said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).

The former batter also backed MI to reach the final next season, given the balance and variety of options on their side.

"This is a side that has so many options just in the leadership department with Suryakumar Yadav, the world's best captain, Rohit Sharma, and Hardik Pandya. Hardik is a good leader, having led GT to a title. So they've three captains also and everything else. They've to just come and play good cricket. I'll be surprised if they don't reach the final. They're a lock not just for the top four but the final itself. They're that good a team," Badrinath concluded.

Despite boasting excellent squads, MI have failed to win a title since their back-to-back championships in 2019 and 2020.

Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran