All the teams and fans were eagerly waiting for the final of IPL 2026. This match was played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Sunday 31 May. But India’s legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar did not look very happy with this. Gavaskar believed that this final was unfair to Gujraj Titans and it should have been postponed by a day. Gavaskar attributed this to the less break given to Gujarat, which was playing matches continuously and travelling.
Gujarat team was facing defending champion Bengaluru in this final on May 31 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Bengaluru had made it straight to the final by defeating Gujarat in Qualifier-1 on 26 May. But Gujarat again had to play the Qualifier-2 match against Rajasthan Royals on 29 May, where it won. While the first qualifier was held in Dharamshala, the second was held in New Chandigarh. Then the very next day the GT players left for Ahmedabad, where they reached late at around 11 pm.
Gavaskar said that considering such a schedule, BCCI should have postponed the final match by a day and organized it on Monday, May 1. Gavaskar said this in an interview with India Today. The former Indian captain said that the players needed rest because they did not know when the flight would take off and when the team would reach, which led to restlessness. He described it as physically as well as mentally tiring for the players and said that since there was a reserve day facility for the final, it should have been postponed by a day.
Sunil Gavaskar said that what Gujarat had to go through was injustice to them. What actually happened was that Gujarat players reached New Chandigarh from Dharamshala on 27th May after playing Qualifier-1. Then after playing Qualifier-2 on 29th May, left for Ahmedabad on 30th May. But on May 30, due to bad weather in Punjab and Rajasthan, the team’s flight got delayed, due to which the entire team reached Ahmedabad at around 11 pm, just 20 hours before the match.
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