Royal Challengers Bengaluru‘s successful defence of their IPL title was the result of decisions made well before the opening match of the season, with the franchise’s leadership pointing to a combination of strategic recruitment, experienced personnel and a strong team culture as the factors behind their rise. Speaking at a virtual press conference organised by RCB on Monday, RCB Head Coach and former Zimbabwe Captain Andy Flower reflected on how the franchise’s journey over the past three seasons helped shape a squad capable of winning consecutive championships.
Confidence forged through experience
RCB’s title defence came a year after the franchise secured its first IPL trophy, ending one of the league’s longest waits for silverware. The team had also reached the playoffs in 2024, a campaign Flower believes played a significant role in shaping what followed.
“Definite differences between 2025 and 2026 campaigns. But I would also mention the 2024 season, because that was instrumental in setting our determination to do things a little bit differently. The very tough first half of 2024 gave us real clarity about certain strategic things that we wanted to employ, and it gave us the courage, almost through desperation, to take those measures. And then we’ve had 2025, where we were walking into the unknown a little, as RCB had never won the title before. So, there was a lot of tension and uncertainty around getting into playoffs and then obviously lifting the trophy. This year has felt a little bit different. I think there’s a deeper level of confidence in our squad. So, that deeper level of confidence after lifting last year’s trophy certainly made this year feel slightly different. It didn’t make it any easier, but certainly going into playoffs there was a deeper level of confidence.”
That confidence became increasingly visible as the season progressed, particularly during the latter stages of the tournament when RCB navigated high-pressure matches on their way to another title.
“I’m glad that it’s observable. I think after winning the trophy last year, and then after playing some outstanding cricket through the group phase this year, our confidence levels have increased. That deeper level of confidence that comes from testing yourselves against good opposition or in challenging circumstances, and proving to yourself or proving to yourselves as a group that you are not only able to handle whatever’s thrown at you, but you’re able to thrive in that high-pressure environment, that produces real confidence.”
Flower also pointed to the influence of senior players within the dressing room.
“The other thing about our group feeling confident, is we’ve got some characters in our dressing room that inspire that level of calmness and confidence. Bowlers like Hazlewood and Bhuvi and Krunal, those guys are calm under pressure. And, you know, the pressure in the IPL is similar to the pressure that you would experience in the play-off stages of World Cups or in big Ashes matches. And having people who have been there and done it before, come through in adversity before, those are deeper, stronger levels of confidence than you might have in other individuals that hadn’t had those experiences before… So we’re lucky to have some of the personnel in our dressing room, and we’re in such a calm and positive manner.”
The squad-building strategy
The importance of experience was a recurring theme throughout RCB’s title-winning cycle. Shortly after the franchise secured a second successive championship, all-rounder Krunal Pandya suggested the foundations of the team’s success had effectively been laid during the mega auction two seasons earlier.
RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat discussed that process during the same virtual press conference and explained why recruitment remains one of the most critical stages of team building.
“I don’t know whether you can win a competition at the auction. I think you can probably lose one at the auction. It’s quite hard to undo things that you then either regret or don’t like about your team structure or even personnel once you’ve got through your first mega auction, and then you’re only dealing with mini auctions in the subsequent years. So I would probably say, in my still fairly limited experience, that I’m not sure you win a competition at the auction, but you can certainly lose one there, and then it gets quite difficult in the mini auction.”
The franchise entered the 2025 mega auction after retaining key figures including Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar. From there, RCB strengthened multiple areas of the squad by bringing in players with extensive international and IPL experience.
Explaining the planning behind those decisions, Bobat said, “We were clear on what we were trying to build as a squad in terms of team structure. We were quite clear on the attributes and characteristics that we wanted from players. That’s a combination of skill and character. Both of those things are really important. And we got pretty much everything we wanted and more at the auction. So we came out of that auction very happy, like most teams tend to do after an auction, but pretty confident that we could do the things that we wanted to do.”
Among the additions were Phil Salt, Tim David, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya, all players with extensive experience of performing under pressure.
“It’s obvious when anyone looks at our squad that we’ve massively valued experience across key roles. Andy mentioned some of the names earlier. Having the likes of Virat and Rajat as retentions was a really good start, but then adding players of the calibre of Phil Salt, Tim David, Buvi, Hazlewood, Krunal. These are battle-hardened men, and that’s quite important, I think, in a competition as demanding as the IPL. The games come thick and fast. You’ve got to be able to move on from defeats quite quickly, and you need guys that are really calm under pressure. A huge amount goes into auction prep. You’ve probably seen some of our auction videos and seen some of the detail that we go into. But as I said, I don’t think you win the competition at the auction, but it can make a really big difference.”
Building a winning environment
Returning to the challenge of managing a title-winning squad, Flower highlighted the complexity of bringing together players from different backgrounds, age groups and cricketing experiences.
“There are always challenges and a long list of them – you’ve got a big squad of players to look after. You’ve got obviously a variety of different people to gather together and get them heading in one direction. You’ve got young and old, experienced and inexperienced, different nationalities.”
Creating alignment across such a diverse group is a task that extends well beyond tactical preparation.
“So, from a professional point of view, it’s a really fascinating challenge to get a group of such different characters together and make them cohesive around the task of taking on these other excellent franchises. So, Mo (Bobat, RCB Director of Cricket) and I both really like those challenges.”
Flower also stressed the importance of ensuring players outside the starting XI remain engaged and continue developing throughout the season.
“It’s really important to look after people and I’ve learned those lessons over the years, particularly as a young head coach, how important that is. Those players that aren’t playing all the time, they still need to feel valued and also feel as if they’re progressing themselves.”
One example stood out during RCB’s championship run.
“But the best example, I think, of people sitting out and making sure that they were ready to contribute to the overall cause was Venkatesh Iyer.”
Iyer spent periods of the season outside the starting side before taking his opportunities when called upon, becoming another example of the squad depth and collective buy-in that helped RCB maintain its standards throughout a successful title defence.
For RCB, consecutive championships have been built on more than individual performances. The combination of long-term planning, targeted recruitment, experienced leadership and a strong dressing-room culture has created a model the franchise hopes can sustain success well beyond its recent title-winning run.
