New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) Mo Bobat, Director of Cricket at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), said nailing the side’s actual shape, based on the vision the think-tank had envisaged during last year’s auction, has been the most rewarding aspect of the IPL 2025 season.

RCB finished at second place in the points table and made it to their fourth IPL final after beating Punjab Kings by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 in New Chandigarh. They will now face the winner of Qualifier 2 – between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians – in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on June 3.

“Nobody gets everything they want at an auction. It’s pretty much impossible. But I think we got predominantly what we wanted in terms of playing personnel. But more importantly, with the actual shape of the team and the vision of that team that Andy and I spent so much time thinking about and talking about, we pretty much nailed that.”

“And that’s probably been the satisfying thing this season – that you get to see that come to life on the field,” said Bobat in a video posted by the franchise on their YouTube channel on Saturday.

Apart from various players stepping up to do the job for making RCB win, Bobat shared head coach Andy Flower’s changed approach has also been helpful, especially with a new skipper in Rajat Patidar at the helm.

“I’ve really enjoyed watching Andy head coach slightly differently this year to how he did last year. The team has changed and the captain has changed. Essentially, we share the principle that we would like our players to walk onto the field and make their own decisions. And to do that, you’ve got to create a decision-rich environment on and off the field.”

“For Andy and I, creating a sort of environment where people feel safe, where they feel backed, where they feel like they’re accountable for their own decisions, and where they’re able to hopefully showcase their strengths – that’s the key bit.”

Before the season began, RCB added former player Dinesh Karthik as their batting coach, and Bobat stated bringing him on board was due to him seeing that the ex-wicketkeeper-batter can add value to the coaching staff.

“In DK’s case, we were really keen to add him the moment that I was aware that he was contemplating retiring. And in fact, even before then, I thought he was somebody that would really add value as a coach. The main thing that we wanted from DK was – mentor is a word that gets used quite a lot, especially in the IPL. I think he’s doing a really good job of bringing that to life.”

Karthik further talked about how the chance of winning the title as a coach propelled him to take up the role and the mentality behind shaping the RCB squad for 2025 season. “Being part of RCB is a very special feeling. Purely because of the brand of cricket that we play, but also the fans that we have.”

“And most importantly, it’s a journey that’s been filled with lots of highs and lows. But the trophy hadn’t reached the shores of Bangalore yet. If I could be part of that journey, why not? That was a big question in my mind. I know how close we were when I played. So here’s another opportunity for me as a coach.”

“I thought we did beautifully in picking a very balanced squad, knowing what sort of players we want and which player would fit in which role. As we were picking the team, we used to put players in certain roles and see how they fit.”

“We were very sure this is the kind of batting order we wanted. And in the auction prep as well, we had a few elevens as combinations, and in that, we had certain players, certain names in mind,” he elaborated.

Karthik signed off by saying what makes the RCB team different from previous squads. “The difference between this current RCB squad and some of the ones that were picked previously are: the amount of experience through the 12 players, the strength and depth in batting, and most importantly, the quality of bowling. All of these three things were very evident. And many leaders – not just one or two big names – but lots of leaders through the players that we had picked.”

–IANS

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