In Part Two of a lengthy interview with Cricbuzz, RCB’s Director of Cricket Mo Bobat discusses how the team discovered a winning strategy at the Chinnaswamy, the difficulties posed by the India-Pakistan conflict interfering with the IPL season, and his desire for the 2025 triumph to establish a continuous trophy-lifting culture.
Part 1 of this in-depth interview with Mo Bobat is available here.
Has T20 progressed to the point where, like Ashish Nehra seems to do at GT, captaincy is complemented with football-style coaching from just outside the boundary? We seen what Eoin Morgan and analyst Nathan Leamon brought with those dugout tactics cards even during your time with England.
There is nothing wrong with coaches taking the initiative on the boundary, in my opinion. It’s pretty good, in my opinion. That doesn’t bother me.
We actually made a good effort at that, which is one of the reasons we hired DK [Dinesh Karthik]. We wanted the dugout to provide some tactical knowledge. I believe that to be acceptable. That’s coaching in the present era. However, I continue to believe that having a strong captain is crucial. It’s crucial, in my opinion. It extends beyond the field. You want his and the senior players’ opinions on those marginal selection decisions. Programming, preparation, everything. On several matters, we confer with Rajat and the older players. That’s how Andy [Flower] and I do things. Since we want the senior group to manage the environment in a variety of ways, we will have to perform more work the more they do it. However, you must have men who are prepared for that degree of accountability.
Is it OK for captains to have their decision-making diluted and not be the alpha who makes all the calls?
In the end, I believe that each captain is unique. In my opinion, there isn’t a rule in either direction. He wanted more information from Nathan because, like Eoin Morgan, one of the greatest captains and leaders I’ve ever met, his brain could handle a lot of knowledge. Additionally, Nathan was modelling scenarios using advanced statistical techniques. Additionally, Nathan would provide Eoin some more information and choices to consider.
I believe Rajat was eager to hear our opinions. Additionally, we typically offer choices. Alternatively, we would typically share some insights if we weren’t offering options. These could be some choices for field or bowling alterations based on what we’ve observed about the surface, the opposition, or the conditions. Thus, you can distribute messages whenever you have the opportunity.
Making decisions about the boundary is not our responsibility. The captain must be able to make decisions on the fly, even if we may offer suggestions, thoughts, and observations.
And Rajat’s ability to remain composed under duress is his greatest asset. He is also able to slow things down. And when it came to discussing the choices and coming to a decision, he and Jitesh [Sharma] in particular did extremely well. as well as from Virat and other experienced players. However, Rajat is the one who needs to be able to comprehend all of that data.
Tell me how you folks would approach it, for instance.
Every game would probably have something similar. Therefore, providing an example is challenging. However, it could be that Rajat occasionally looks over at us and indicates whether we should go seam one more time or whether this is the over we go with a wrist spinner. ‘Okay, let’s get the spinner on,’ we might even say. That could be one instance. Alternatively, Rajat may not enquire, but we forward that message to Jitesh, who then converses with him. That might serve as an illustration. Depending on the strengths of each player, it might be the placement of a fielder. It could be somewhat wider, slightly finer, or something similar. Do they ramp? Therefore, it may be anything.
However, the IPL’s technical timeouts are one of its best features. However, Rajat would occasionally glance over and ask us a helpful question when he needed the information. To be clear, though, what matters most is that he feels empowered to make his own judgements and has access to the information he needs from both on and off the pitch.
Now let’s talk about the season. You played away games in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata for three of your first four games. To what extent did that opening set the tone for the season?
When people say that RCB hasn’t won in Chennai since whatever year, you have to keep in mind that most of us aren’t included.
One advantage of franchise cricket is that. Virat [Kohli] is the only one who has completed the entire route; the others have not. Therefore, we are clearly proud to have broken some of these records, or set them, as you may choose. However, none of that baggage was with us. It’s simply sounds. It’s not true. There are two points in the game of reality. That’s my perspective.
Now, if I zoom out a little, the fact that we knew we were playing against teams that are proud of their records in three of our first four games was more important. That was another task we wanted to set for ourselves as a group, and we stated that we wanted to start with a statement. We wanted to get off to a fast start and play a style of cricket that puts pressure on the opponent.
Furthermore, we cannot worry about the adversary or the pitch if we only concentrate on ourselves. Pay attention to ourselves and perform properly. We must have faith that if we give it our all, it will be sufficient for everyone.
What about the Chinnaswamy factor, which has long been viewed as RCB’s weak point? You lost your first three home games this season, despite some impressive away victories. How did you approach and overcome that obstacle?
Look, even throughout the tournament, I received a lot of questions about this. And I usually reply, “Home results don’t win you an IPL trophy.” When you win cricket matches, you receive an IPL trophy. When you play a significant percentage of your games at home, it goes without saying that you want to do well there. It’s only common sense. But you don’t need to stress it too much, in my opinion. Whether you win at home or away, two points is two points, and a win is two points. Therefore, I didn’t want this to cause worry or obsession within the player group.
The second thing I would say is that, well, playing in the Chinnaswamy is kind of levelling the playing field. In fact, there should be less attention paid to the bat vs bat point, which is important. The fact that the game is decided by the toss is actually a more pertinent aspect. Furthermore, the Chinnaswamy hasn’t acted in the manner that people believe it ought to over the past few years.
We learnt the hard way, therefore it’s best if others try to figure it out as well, so I won’t go into too much detail now. However, things have changed, and it isn’t acting as people would expect. Additionally, it has some qualities that can surprise individuals. We thought we read it fairly well this year. However, the toss was not in our favour. The first three tosses were lost by us. And I have no doubt that we might have emerged victorious if we had won those three tosses. Regardless of the toss, however, we had figured out how we were going to win and what we might have to do in the fourth game. Then we did, which was pleasant.
We so settled into a little rhythm and pattern by the time we reached our fourth home game [against RR] and our fifth game [against CSK], and we felt fairly secure at home. The fact that the final home game vs KKR was rained off truly saddened me.
Once more, I’ll let others try to determine what you need on your team. I don’t want to reveal too much information. However, there are some shots you could like to play. Additionally, you may have to give up on other shots. You require specific abilities and qualities for your attack. Character and perseverance are definitely what you need because this is the kind of game that can elude you. And you must persevere because the game endures for a considerable amount of time.
Are the cross-batted shots in front of the square the ones you don’t play? In the nets, I observed hitters attempting to hit down the ground off a short distance or even to get inside the line and pull it behind square.
[Giggles] I guess I’ll follow Andy’s example a little. Let’s discuss that in three years and then go on to a couple more IPLs, I’ll say. However, I would think that your observations are excellent. because we discovered two items. One is that the Chinnaswamy is the place where things are turning more than anywhere else. Nobody anticipates that, so it’s unexpected. Additionally, pace bowlers are receiving varying bounce. It bounces a lot at times and not at others. Based on what I just said, people can determine which shots you should or shouldn’t play. In the IPL, it’s common sense. But the ball is doing just that. You’re getting inconsistent bounce off the quicks, and it’s turning a lot. Additionally, the first inning is poorer than the second. There, I haven’t revealed any secrets. That’s what the ball’s doing, as any analyst will observe.
Therefore, it involves collaborating with the batters to help them make sense of their own ideas. Now, you may have observed Virat playing and practicing in a particular manner. We don’t make a lot of team plans, to be clear. We work with each person individually. Additionally, Phil Salt will do it differently than Virat, who will do it differently than Dev or Rajat. Each of them has unique strengths. Therefore, you cannot over-engineer your game plans or templates. You must work with each person, even if you have small themes. I’m always in favour of letting players exploit their advantages to exert pressure on the opposition. But above all, it’s critical to comprehend what the pitch is doing.
This season was different because of the mid-season break. Did you worry about losing momentum at the wrong moment as the business end approached?
There were benefits and drawbacks to the separation, in my opinion. In my mind, it was unfortunate because we were in a favourable situation. We were having fun playing cricket. You don’t want that momentum and sensation to fade. Psychologically, it was a difficult period. We had just played seven games in 21 or 22 days, with everyone travelling before and after each game, so it was certainly a fantastic time physically. That schedule, you know, was probably the longest any team had.
We experienced some aches and pains. Rajat had broken his knuckle, you know. Josh Hazlewood has developed a niggle in his shoulder. At the time, Dev [Padikkal] was having some minor hamstring problems. The schedule was causing the bodies to creak a little. Thus, there were advantages and disadvantages. You know, I was really excited for us to play soon as long as we could physically heal the people. I didn’t want to have to wait several months to return. I’m therefore relieved that the break wasn’t too long.
The tough part, though, was that we were the final game before the break and the first one following. It rained off the first game [against KKR] after the break. Strangely, we played SRH in Lucknow, which was our first cricket match in three weeks. The players now feel as though we haven’t played a game in three weeks, whereas before we felt like we had incredible momentum. Additionally, it poured during the most of our most recent practice sessions in Bangalore. It began to seem like pre-season for all of them. It was difficult. They penalised us after we played that SRH game briefly, as if we were warming up once more. One extremely risky aspect is SRH. In my opinion, they will pose a threat in the upcoming year. At Lucknow, they had already participated in one game. We hadn’t practiced much and hadn’t played on that surface. We were penalised and defeated by a superior team because we were so rusty in the SRH match. However, we managed to shake things up a bit, find our rhythm, and resume our routines.
The availability of players, coordinating with players abroad, and handling substitutes must have been the more difficult task. Most importantly, considering Hazlewood’s significance to your campaign. How did you account for such unpredictability in your planning?
Looking at the break itself, I’m sure many people are thinking, “Well, if our overseas players go, they might not come back.” This isn’t just Hazlewood, though. That is a fact. Andy and I met with the international players as soon as we learnt of the postponement. I recall that we had a conversation with them when they visited my hotel room. Since they are grownups, we wanted to make sure we treated them as such. We stated that we must respect their desire to return home if they felt uneasy in the nation due to the rising violence. Therefore, we never attempted to make them remain. Instead, we offered them a choice.
However, we did assure them that the franchise would take care of them and that we always had their best interests in mind. And we would ask them to return if we thought it was safe to do so. Do they approve of that? And each and every one of them replied, “Yes, let’s go.” And if you guys believe it’s safe, we’ll trust you and return when we have more clarity. We therefore had that discussion fairly early.
Josh’s situation was a little more complex because it involved more than simply the disagreement. We were concerned that he would return to Australia and take some time off. ‘All right, let’s prepare him for the Test Championship Final,’ said Cricket Australia. We had to cope with all of these actual issues. The communication between our medical team and Cricket Australia’s medical team was good, and they continued to communicate often throughout the season. That’s incredibly, really beneficial, in my opinion.
I believe that my twelve years of experience working in international cricket also helps a little. Both Andy and I enjoy positive ties with several of the overseas boards. As a result, we are well familiar with the coaches and the administrators. Additionally, I hope that Andy and I, as well as our medical staff, have mutual trust. Nothing we did would have been wrong for Josh Hazelwood as a person. We therefore spoke with them and Josh for a considerable amount of time.
In order to help Cricket Australia prepare for the next World Test Championship and Test cricket, we drew out a plan. We promised to uphold that. We also promised not to hurry him back. Therefore, having him for the playoffs is excellent, but anything beyond that is a bonus. We therefore took our time. We wished for his well-being. And you see, I was so anxious to win him back that it was a nervous few days. Fortunately, Cricket Australia had faith in us, and Josh was eager to help us win the IPL again. Thus, we were able to come to an agreement on that strategy and he returned.
However, those were hectic days. We learnt that the competition was restarting and that we would be the first game back, and I believe it was a Monday night. Everyone had just returned home two or three days prior, it seemed. We must retrieve them all once more. And I recall that during the course of the following day, I spoke with all of the governing bodies, including those abroad. In any case, we wanted to communicate with them, especially the significant ones where there were conflicts, like as when the England players were at odds.
After that, we conducted video calls with all of the players, including those who were playing abroad. When we spoke with them, we explained the plan. Here’s how we’ll take care of you. This is the timetable. We want you to return here. We didn’t simply tell them to return. I believe they truly valued the fact that we treated them like grownups. Then they all returned, which was fantastic. Naturally, because the competition was extended, we had to lose a few of them a little prematurely. Thus, Lungi Ngidi and Jacob Bethell had to go. Although it was unfortunate that we were unable to advance them to the final, it was equally crucial that they fulfil their international obligations.
India
