How Project RCB came to fruition

For Flower, the most successful coach in short format cricket, winning the IPL was a personal challenge

- Rasesh Mandani

AHMEDABAD: A little past midnight on Tuesday, before the party got wilder, Andy Flower was in a state of contentment, discussing the final triumph over Punjab Kings with the media, with the glittering IPL trophy placed next to him.

Cast your mind back to the November auction in Jeddah, where each team had to rebuild a squad for the future. For Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with all their fanfare, a devoted fan base and Virat Kohli's unmatched appeal, it had been far too long to have remained trophyless.

During his playing days for Zimbabwe, Flower was a world-class batter, his tactics ahead of time. As coach, Flower had won every short format trophy he had coached in - the T20 World Cup, The Hundred, ILT20 and PSL. But to win IPL was a personal challenge for someone with his coaching acumen. From his experience at Lucknow Super Giants and with RCB last season, Flower knew that to win IPL he had to get the auction strategy right.

Before entering the auction room, RCB took the critical call to retain only three players - Kohli, a no-brainer because of his other-worldly importance, Rajat Patidar, who would go on to become the captain, and Yash Dayal, a leading Indian left-arm seamer who could swing the new ball.