Vikram Solanki Proud of Gujarat Titans Despite Five-Wicket IPL Final Defeat

Gujarat Titans lost the 2026 IPL final to Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets, but director of cricket Vikram Solanki said the group was proud of what it had achieved this season.

Credit to RCB

At the post-match press conference, as reported by ESPNcricinfo, Solanki first congratulated RCB. He noted that they topped the league table and then beat Gujarat twice, something his side had to accept.

Pride, not excuses

Solanki said Gujarat would have liked to go one step further, but plenty of other teams would gladly have swapped places with them. The Titans had played three matches in five days, including their Qualifier 1 loss to RCB, and travel was disrupted by bad weather before the final. Solanki acknowledged the challenge but refused to lean on it, saying the team had to hold its head high.

The No. 3 decision

Asked why Nishant Sindhu was promoted to No. 3 after Shubman Gill fell early, Solanki called it a judgment call by head coach Ashish Nehra, made together with the captain. He said it had not been discussed in detail.

Reliance on the openers

Solanki responded firmly to questions about Gujarat leaning on openers Gill and Sai Sudharsan, who both passed 700 runs this season. He said he had answered that question many times, that the team had just played a final and that the details were there for all to see.