Virat Kohli, captain Rajat Patidar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are being praised for playing an important role in helping Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) win the IPL title for the second consecutive time, but there is another person among them, who might be spreading a slight smile of satisfaction in some corner. This person’s name is Andy Flowers. Former Zimbabwean batsman Flower is the head coach of RCB.

When Flower took charge in August 2023, RCB were looking for their first IPL title. He did his work quietly behind the scenes and now RCB is the third team to become IPL champion in two consecutive seasons. RCB has never had a shortage of star players but it was not able to become champion. Apart from Virat Kohli, it had great players like AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Dale Steyn, Shane Watson, Yuvraj Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal, but despite this it could not win the title. Flower made an excellent strategy after joining RCB before the 2024 auction, which has made the team invincible.

Flower is the champion coach

Flower came to RCB bringing immense experience with him. He played an important role in helping England win the Ashes in 2005, Test series win in India (2012) and the 2010 T20 World Cup title. He has also made Multan Sultans, Gulf Giants, Trent Rockets and Maratha Arabians champions in the franchise league.

After replacing Mike Hesson as RCB head coach, Flower’s focus has been on strengthening the bowling. When he bet Rs 10.75 crore on Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the IPL 2025 mega auction, many eyebrows were raised but it turned out to be a master-stroke. Experienced fast bowler Bhuvneshwar has taken 45 wickets in two IPL seasons with RCB and has led the bowling unit brilliantly.

Flower expresses confidence in young talent

Flower, who is famous for giving opportunities to young talent, along with RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik and Director of Cricket Mo Bobat, included new bowlers like Rasik Salam Dar, Suyyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh and Mangesh Yadav in the team. Captain Patidar has praised Flower’s ability to work effectively with experienced stars and emerging talent.

Patidar said, ‘I think he is one of the best coaches. He spends a lot of time not only with the players included in the playing XI but also with all the players who are not playing or are new players in the team. I am falling short of words for him but he is the best coach I have ever had. Patidar further said, ‘I think the culture of the team has changed now. There has been a lot of change in the mentality of the players. I think all the credit for this goes to the coaching staff.