With the glittering IPL trophy next to him, Andy Flower happily talked to the media about the ultimate victory over the Punjab Kings on Tuesday shortly after midnight in Ahmedabad, before the celebration became more raucous.

Think back to the November auction in Jeddah, where every club was compelled to reconstruct a team for the future. It had been far too long for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with all its fanfare, a devoted fan base, and Virat Kohli's unparalleled charisma, to have continued without a trophy.

Flower was a superb batsman for Zimbabwe throughout his playing career, and his strategies were innovative. Flower had won the T20 World Cup, The Hundred, ILT20, and PSL—every short-format trophy he had coached in—while serving as coach. However, for someone with his coaching ability, winning the IPL was a personal accomplishment. Having previously worked with RCB and the Lucknow Super Giants last season, Flower was aware that the key to winning the IPL was to have a solid auction plan.

The crucial decision to keep only three players—Kohli, who was an obvious choice due to his out-of-this-world importance; Rajat Patidar, who would eventually become the captain; and Yash Dayal, a top Indian left-arm seamer who could swing the new ball—was made by RCB before entering the auction hall.

The analyst's role became the foundation of the auction plan after the retention calls were completed. Intriguingly, in his book on the evolution of T20, Freddie Wilde, an RCB analyst who previously worked with the England team, wrote a chapter titled "Why RCB lose." Wilde emphasized how RCB's excessive reliance on pricey hitting talent, their poor bowling, and their lack of a strong Indian core reduced their prospects. He would have undoubtedly helped to rectify the errors of the past.

"We were receiving a little flack following the first day of the auction, as I am aware. Flower said, "People assumed we were investing our money rather than spending it, but it meant we had money to then spend on value and we got guys like Bhuvi, Krunal, Tim David, Romario Shepherd. Our little leg spinner Suyash Sharma has done very well."

Mo Bobat, who had previously served as the performance director for English cricket under Eoin Morgan's captaincy years, helped Flower. "He's got a great brain, he's a good strategist, so I've got tons of respect for him," he said. "Part of Mo's philosophy 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, but the importance of a good bowling attack was acknowledged absolutely adamantly right at the start, before the auction, and we worked towards that."

The pacers with the most diverse skill sets in RCB were Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. The Australian, who was an expert at bowling hard lengths, and the Indian, who bowled full to swing the ball at the beginning and had the ability to finish games with his death overs mastery. Dinesh Karthik, a recent addition to the coaching team and former RCB finisher, suggested Bhuvi. Karthik described Bhuvi as "still the best T20 bowler India has after Jasprit Bumrah" in a fictitious auction video.

Not much went amiss for Karthik. Among Indian pacers, only Prasidh Krishna (GT-25 wickets) and Arshdeep Singh (PBKS-21 wickets) had more wickets than Bhuvi (17) outside of Bumrah (18). In the final, Bhuvi kept his cool and bowled the crucial overs. PBKS maintained Arshdeep for ₹18 crore, while RCB chose Dayal (retained for ₹5 crore). Dayal will always be a pricey acquisition.

Karthik is a talented coach in addition to his command of contemporary T20 strategies. The necessity to include an Indian specialist was also addressed by getting him on board.

"Having that Indian insight and knowledge in our coaching staff has been really important for this campaign," Flower stated. "And DK as a mentor and batting specialist has been brilliant. He has made a remarkable transition from playing to coaching. Within the leadership of the management team, the coaching staff, the batting team, and the entire squad, it is clear that he has made an impact.

The most obvious was Karthik's impact on Jitesh Sharma. Following a lull in the middle overs of the final, Jitesh scooped the tall Kyle Jamieson over the wicketkeeper's head and hammered him over his head for sixes in the same over. Karthik's guidance has helped Jitesh discover that he can now improvise in front of the wicket rather than just using power strokes.

Brendon McCullum states in Wilde's book that it's simpler to establish personal connections in international cricket. "You know when you go over the wall they come with you," the England coach said.

It might be tough to gain such devotion in franchise cricket, but the sense of kinship was evident among RCB's graduating class of 2025.

Because the conflict was so close to the World Test Championship final, Hazlewood (22 wkts) returned to fulfill his IPL commitment following the week-long suspension. Phil Salt of England went back to Ahmedabad early Tuesday morning after leaving his house for the birth of his child to compete in the championship match.

Read Also: Virat Kohli to Chinnaswamy Crowd: ‘Let Me Talk’ After Being Interrupted Twice During RCB’s IPL Victory Celebration

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