Royal Challengers Bangalore named Andy Flower as their new head coach on August 4 (Friday). The franchise decided not to renew the contracts of Mike Hesson, director of cricket operations, and Sanjay Bangar, the head coach. Incidentally, Flower had coached Lucknow Super Giants for a couple of seasons before being replaced by Justin Langer last month.
“RCB have an unrivalled fan following and I can’t wait to fully experience the atmosphere in the Chinnaswamy next season,” Flower said in a release. “I recognise the work put in by Mike Hesson and Sanjay Bangar, who are two coaches I respect, and I look forward to the challenge of taking RCB to new heights.”
Previously, Flower and Faf du Plessis, the RCB skipper, were named as the coach and captain of the World XI side that toured Pakistan in September 2017. “I’m particularly excited to be reunited with Faf [du Plessis, the captain]. We have worked very well together in the past and I look forward to forging our partnership and relationship into something bigger and better. We have an exciting roster of players to work with, and I recognise and will relish both the amazing opportunity with RCB but also the responsibility that comes with the role. It is a great challenge, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Flower has a fine coaching CV. Under his tenure, England went on to become the No.1 Test side. They also won the Ashes – home and away – in 2009, 2010-11 and 2013. England also defeated India in India in a Test series in 2012-13, and won the T20 World Cup in 2010. With Flower at the helm of affairs, Multan Sultans, Trent Rockets and Gulf Giants lifted the PSL, The Hundred and ILT20 titles in 2021 and 2022 respectively. He also helped LSG reach the playoffs stage twice.
Meanwhile, Hesson joined the RCB set-up in 2019, after the franchise had decided not to extend the contracts of Gary Kirsten, Ashish Nehra and Vikram Solanki. On the other hand, Bangar linked up with the franchise as head coach in 2022, taking over from Simon Katich. Under Hesson, RCB’s best finish was in 2021, when they ended up taking the third place. In 2020 and 2022, RCB was the fourth-placed team. In the IPL 2023, RCB finished a disappointing sixth.
RCB have played in all seasons of IPL so far, reaching the final thrice. However, they are yet to win the IPL title.