Sunil Gavaskar says toning down 'Ee Sala Cup Namde' slogan helped RCB win first IPL title

India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar feels the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) shifting focus from just winning the trophy to playing good cricket helped him clinch their first Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy . He said that their popular slogan “Ee sala cup named (This year, the cup will be ours)” had become a jinx, but they won their maiden IPL trophy in a season when the slogan was toned down.

RCB defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in the IPL 2025 final on Tuesday to win their first trophy in 18 years. It was also Virat Kohli’s first IPL trophy. He has played for RCB in all 18 seasons.

Gavaskar: ‘Ee sala cup namde’ slogan had become a jinx

While talking to India Today, Gavaskar analysed that “Ee sala cup namde” slogan was always in people’s face but it was toned down this year and that has worked in RCB’s favour as they were able to concentrate on playing good cricket.

“This was the one year when that popular slogan—“Ee sala cup namde”—was more muted than usual. It wasn’t in everyone’s face like before, and maybe that helped. It almost felt like that slogan had become a bit of a jinx, and once it was toned down, things worked out,” Gavaskar told India Today.

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It’s very clear RCB benefited by focusing on pure cricket rather than other aspects. They have had nine different players of the match award winners, which shows the IPL title win has been a terrific team effort.

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Gavaskar also highlighted RCB’s ability to stay calm in tense moments and win the big matches like Qualifier 1 and the IPL final.

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“Congratulations to RCB—they’ve played top-class cricket throughout the IPL. Especially their last 2–3 performances were outstanding: chasing 230+ against LSG, demolishing Punjab in Qualifier 1 in just 14 overs, and then keeping their nerve in the final despite being 15–20 runs short of a par score,” he added.