RCB coach explains how Bobat’s auction strategy led 1 IPL title

Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower credited team director Mo Bobat for the team breaking the 18-year-long jinx. RCB defeated PBKS by 6 wickets to lay hands on their first-ever IPL trophy. After the high-octane contest, Flower explained how RCB’s auction strategy played a crucial role in guiding the team to their maiden title.

RCB’s auction strategy pays off

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Flower revealed that it was Mo Bobat’s philosophy of spending money equitably than overpaying a player which worked wonders for the team. He said that RCB had decided that they need a good bowling attack even before the IPL 2025 mega auction and that they worked towards that.

“The auction is a huge first step that you’ve got to try and get as right as possible and (as a) part of Mo’s 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 said.

The RCB coach further admitted that the team had earned flak after the first day of the auction, claiming that people had thought RCB were investing money instead of spending. He said that that money was used to make some value buys like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Suyash Sharma among others.

“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,” he said.

RCB spent Rs 119.25 cr at the auction, buying 22 players. Of these, 8 were overseas players. The side retained Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal ahead of the mega-auction.