"Received Flak After Auction...": RCB Coach's Ultimate Response To Critics After IPL 2025 Triumph

NDTV

2 days ago

Acquiring a lethal bowling attack in the mega auction and picking players with experience were "huge first steps" in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's march to their maiden IPL title, said head coach Andy Flower. RCB defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in the final here on Tuesday to end their long wait in the 18th edition of the tournament, and Flower said it all began with the franchise making the right moves in the auction last year.
"The auction is a huge first step that you've got to try and get as right as possible and (as a) part of (team director) Mo's (Mo Bobat) philosophy right up front, was to distribute the value a little more equitably rather than spending too much on big-name batsmen who are, of course, very fine players," Flower told the media after RCB's title win.
"The importance of a good bowling attack was acknowledged absolutely adamantly right at the start before the auction and we worked towards that."
The win also helped batting great Virat Kohli fulfil his dream of winning an IPL title.
"I know after the first day of the auction, we were copping a little bit of flak. People thought that we were investing our money rather than spending it. But it meant that there was some really good value to be had on the second day," the former Zimbabwe captain said.
Flower counted the players RCB added to their roster during the auction in November at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
"We had the money to then spend on that value. We got guys like Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar), Krunal (Pandya), Tim David, Romario Shepherd on that second day so that was really important," he said.
"Suyash Sharma has done really well for us — our little leg spinner. I thought he has handled himself really well through the season.
"Krunal is a big match player and a great competitor and that spell today (Tuesday) was the major difference between the teams," said Flower of Pandya, who returned match-winning figures of 4-0-17-2.
Flower said having players with experience of competing in big matches also came in handy for RCB.
"We talked about that yesterday when we were in our planning meetings and earlier this evening in the huddle before the game started. We had a good group of experienced cricketers in our team," he said.
"Guys like, obviously, Virat (Kohli), (Josh) Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, a big part of their recruitment was their experience. Hazlewood has played in World Cup finals before. He has played in big matches and big tournaments, as has Virat.
"Krunal, this is his fourth IPL win so it was crucial recruiting them in the first place. The auction is a huge step in the right direction if you can get it right," Flower added.
He said the total of 190/9 wasn't a huge score but they trusted their bowling attack to deliver on the night.
"Yes, 190 didn't seem like a huge score at this ground. As you know, like an average winning score this season is 220 or something," he said.
"I wouldn't say it was below par, because in a final to go and score 190, you've still got to play really well. We have got a good bowling attack and we trusted that the bowlers would come to the party in that second innings," he said.
Flower acknowledged Dinesh Karthik's role as team mentor cum batting coach.
"Indian insight and knowledge in our coaching staff has been really important for this campaign this year. DK, particularly, as a mentor and a batting specialist, he's been brilliant," Flower said.
"It's quite a transition to make from playing to coaching, and he has done it amazingly well, and it's very obvious that he has had an impact, certainly on the batting group," he said.
Flower said while the pitch had a little bit of moisture, it made batting a bit difficult for the RCB batters.
"There was a little bit of moisture in the pitch initially and it held up a little, so that made batting a little bit tricky for us in the first innings. We would have bowled first if we had won the toss," he said.
"It might have felt a little slow to a lot of people. But there were little cameos along the way from a lot of our batting group. Good, aggressive little cameos that took us to 190." "(A score of) 190 is a big chase when the pressure of winning the cup is on. So, even though we lost the toss, we handled ourselves really well," Flower added.