Members of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s new coaching staff, Mike Hesson and Simon Katich, are confident about the franchise’s chances of lifting the maiden IPL trophy in the upcoming season.
According to Hesson and Katich, RCB have all bases covered heading into the tournament, slated to be held in UAE from September 19 to November 10.
In the last three seasons, the Virat Kohli-led franchise has lost many games due to their death bowling. But Director of Cricket Hesson reckons the issue has been addressed with signings of Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Kane Richardson and Dale Steyn.
"We were very clear about our death bowling and wanted to make sure we got it covered. We went into the auction wanting to fix that," Hesson said at the virtual media interaction.
"We have got Udana, Morris, Richardson, Steyn. Navdeep Saini has done the job nicely and our spinners too will play a big part. We got Chahal who is exceptional bowler and a nice mix of spinners (Shahbaz Nadeem, Pawan Negi, Moeen Ali).
"We think we are not so much reliant on our batting and have a balanced unit."
In the batting department, RCB’s biggest buy at the IPL 2020 auction was Australia's white-ball skipper Aaron Finch.
Head coach Katich believes Finch's presence will benefit Kohli.
"We were looking for guys at the top of their game in international cricket. Finch was high on that list. As a player and captain, he has done well for Australia. He is a good player of spin and brings leadership in the group."
Hesson was asked about Steyn and AB de Villiers, who have not played a lot over the past 12 months.
"RCB got legends in Dale and ABD. Both players took part in an exhibition match in South Africa recently, de Villiers was the stand out player. It shows his quality.
"Steyn is another one. When we saw him return (from injury) six months ago, he was in exceptional form. He is developing his T20 game and working on different deliveries. He is not ready to retire yet and keen to make a contribution," said the former New Zealand coach.
Katich said getting players ready after a lengthy COVID-19 hiatus will be a challenge, especially the younger lot but therein also lies an opportunity.
"We will find out how they adjust after a long break. The experienced lot can draw on what they have done in the past (in similar scenarios) but working with younger guys will be a tougher challenge.
"Unfortunately, it is a different situation (due to COVID-19 players have not played enough). At the same time, they they are fresh and hungry. The big thing is how they adjust mentally and cope with the anxiety.
"Current form (in the nets) will count a lot, if someone shows form instantly (he would be considered)," said Katich.
(With PTI inputs)
