Published 23:05 IST, December 20th 2019
Virat Kohli's RCB sets sight to win its maiden IPL title
Royal Challengers Bangalore set sights on the first IPL title with some exciting buys in the auction for thr IPL 2020
Royal Challengers Bangalore set sights on the first IPL title with some exciting buys in the auction for the IPL 2020 with both team Director and head coach believing the best possible team was picked in a bid to clinch the elusive maiden IPL title in 2020.
Mike Hesson on IPL auction
RCB Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson, said
“Our plan going into the auction was to look at players that will combine and well with the retained squad. We want a squad that can has balance and can adapt to any conditions both at home and away. To pick players who help us maximise our budget judiciously took a thoughtful approach. I am very pleased with the way auction went. Majority of work goes on prior to auction around strategy, this includes number of Mock Auctions and gives us a much better chance to maximise the budget we have at our disposal. We wanted the majority of our overseas players to bring plenty of International experience in order to add and share knowledge with the exciting developing talents we already have at RCB. As far as when we look at any overseas players to bring to RCB its not only about talent, but where else can they contribute."
On the players picked during the auction, Hessen said
"Aaron is a hugely experienced player who add plenty of skill but also a calm head to the environment. Chris Morris and Isuru Udana both provide all round packages being able to bowl at any time in the innings, especially death overs which we know needed addressing, in addition they provide balance with power late order hitting. Kane Richardson and Dayle Steyn have the ability to take wickets in the Power Play and bring some hostility and experience to our attack. Both bowlers have also been exceptional at the death and added a few new tricks which we have been impressed with. We have picked a local talent in Pavan Deshpande who provides us batting cover, his power and flexibility where he bats is a very useful addition to the squad. Shabhaz Ahmed is a quality Left Arm Spin bowling all-rounder who adds depth to an area which we believe will play an important role in certain conditions. Josh Phillipe was a coup for us as we didn’t think given his form the last 12 months, we would be able to fit him within our budget. He will provide another Wicketkeeping option someone who bat anywhere in the top 6. We are very happy with the players both retained and purchased at the auction. As a team, we will ensure that we all come together including our fans, to celebrate the spirit of cricket by playing bold.”
RCB Head Coach Simon Katich on team preparedness
Simon Katich, RCB Head Coach, said
“We’ve had several discussions over the last few months, and have put in a lot of time and effort to make sure that we’re well prepared. Going into the auction one must be very clear about the kind of players we need to be part of the squad. I feel we have locked down on key players as planned. The beauty of the squad at the moment is that we have retained so many Indian players and got the right combination of overseas talent from the auction to have a very flexible line up so, really looking forward to a promising season of IPL 2020.”
Updated 23:26 IST, December 20th 2019