IPL 2026 | Tim David raring to make a bigger impact this season

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Tim David has kicked off from where he left last season. In fact, the 6’5’’ Australian, who was an integral member in the franchise winning their maiden IPL crown in 2025 with his blistering hits as a finisher, has upped the ante.

Last season, the giant collected 187 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 185.15. This time around, promoted to No. 5, the Singapore-born Perth resident has already scored 173 runs in 6 innings at a scorching strike rate of 203.53. 

The 30-year-old David, who started his IPL career with RCB in 2021 before making a mark at Mumbai Indians for three seasons and returning to the defending champions last year for Rs 3 crore, said he’s trying to make a bigger impact following his batting promotion.

“So as a middle-overs batter, you basically have to problem solve, so we're very lucky that we have a brilliant top-order and they're very consistent and put us in a good position in game. So a lot of the time I'm going and putting the finishing pieces on that or trying my best,” said David in an interaction.

“It's myself along with Romario (Shepherd) and Jitesh (Sharma) (as finishers), so that takes a lot of pressure off myself that I'm the only one there to try and do it. My role is, I guess, trying to get us to as good a score as possible, and sometimes you have to work with the bowlers when you're batting low down. I'm getting the chance to bat a little bit higher this year and try and make a bigger impact on the game.”

The role of a finisher is one of the most difficult jobs in T20 cricket. Very often, they are expected to tee off from the get-go, unlike top-order batters who have the luxury of getting their eye in and then stepping on the accelerator. Also, they don’t have the advantage of Power Play like top-order batters. So how does David train himself for such challenges?

“The role we play in, you have to take risks, so you can't be super consistent all the time. It's really difficult. Fortunately, I've played my whole career in the middle order, so I understand certain risks and I've found success in doing different things, so you try and replicate that at times. But certainly in practice, you have to get your volume of balls in because you don't get to bat all the time in the matches.

“So it's practicing your basics, making sure you, you know, some really basic throws from coaches and working on making sure your technical structure is sound. And then, obviously, you need to have the power for hitting. So a lot of practicing that and working on different ways you want to take the balls down. But then when you get into a game, it's trying to do it within your strength,” added David.

David, an avid golfer, said he’s looking forward to scripting more wins for RCB. “You know I've come to India for three months and I want to have a good season, I want to be successful with RCB, I want my team to win.

“So if you go home after that feeling deflated after not doing it, so the biggest part about batting in the middle or where I bat is you have to not judge yourself too harshly. You have to kind of roll with the punches because games don't always go how you want them to and then when you have good days you try and have fun.”