We're not carrying the ego of one year of success, but starting with humility: RCB's Bobat

Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru Director of Cricket Mo Bobat on Tuesday urged the players not to be egotistical after clinching their maiden IPL title last year and retain the "humility" to repeat the success in a new season.

The RCB defeated Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final to lift their maiden trophy, something their ardent fans were waiting for since 2008.

"This is a new campaign. A bit like last season, we weren't carrying the baggage of 17 years. This year, we're not carrying the ego of one year of success either. We have to start with humility," said Bobat in the pre-season press meet here on Tuesday.

“It is nice to have got that first trophy because it means we can look forward to and not have to answer those sorts of questions for too much longer. Hopefully, we can look forward and focus on what's in front of us," he added.

Bobat had a rather different thought about RCB not winning the trophy for so long, and the scars that can leave on the players' psyche.

“I'm not sure I would describe it as a jinx. Franchise cricket is so transient and players come and go. Whilst our fans and the franchise might have been chasing that elusive trophy for 17 years, that isn't the view of the world of everybody involved.

"For example, if I take myself, it was only my second season with RCB. So, whilst I'm mindful of the many years that we haven't won the trophy, I'm not personally carrying that baggage. So I've got a lot of fresh energy and a lot of optimism. That is true for much of the squad,” he added.

The Englishman, however, did not forget the "unique" standings of players like Virat Kohli, whose association with RCB dates back to 2008.

“Virat's quite a unique case in point. Obviously, he's done the whole journey and he's ridden the highs and the lows of many years. So, for him personally, it was quite an emotional outpouring at the end of that (2025) final.

“And that was quite beautiful to see, actually. It was great that we could share that moment with the likes of AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, other guys who have been big, iconic players for the franchise. But I would just say that not everybody would have experienced it that same way." But RCB had to curtail their celebrations abruptly after 11 fans lost their lives during the June 4, 2025 stampede near the stadium.

The sordid incident also sparked a train of events, including the uncertainty surrounding matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium before eventually splitting the seven home matches between Bengaluru (5) and Raipur (2).

Bobat admitted that it was not an ideal start to the season.

“It was probably a bit of a distraction, because you want to have clarity. I prefer to try and assemble teams that can adapt to any surfaces and conditions. One of the beauties of playing in the IPL is that different grounds require different tactics, maybe different combinations.

“You're already trying to adapt between red soil surfaces, black soil surfaces, mixed soil. So, I don't think it would have affected our decision-making too strongly. Ideally, you want these things clarified as early as possible." RCB also had to deal with injury to key pacer Josh Hazlewood, who would miss at least the initial part of the IPL 2026.

The Aussie pacer had played a big role in the title win last year, taking 22 wickets and tying down opposition teams even in the Power Play.

"Josh has missed quite a bit of cricket in recent times, so he's currently working through a return to play programme. We are liaising very closely with both Josh and Cricket Australia, and our medical teams are collaborating very strongly on a day-to-day basis on his programme.

"As soon as he gets to a point where CA are happy, he'll come over, and we hope to have him with us very soon." The seasoned coach also viewed the absence of Hazlewood as symptomatic of a tight cricket calendar, which is the modern-day norm.

“It's probably a symptom of the congested cricket schedule, isn't it? Any of us who follow cricket know how challenging that is on a domestic level, but also an international level. It's not ideal for any of the teams that are losing players at this stage because it impacts your planning.

“I sympathise and empathise with any of the teams going through that at the minute because it's not easy. We try to communicate really closely with the international governing bodies. Our medical team is excellent. They're always communicating with players and other governing body medical teams.” Bobat hoped for a balanced workload management because players cannot be put under a broad, single-pointed schedule.

“It's a bigger question that cricket has to grapple with. Even if I think about my previous role working with England, many hours, many days and many months you spend trying to understand fast bowling and the demands.

“It probably shows you that either we don't understand that area well enough still as a game or it might simply be that the workloads that players are being exposed to are unmanageable right now. When I talk about workloads, it's important to know that any extreme is not wise.

“You can be under-bowled just as much as you can be over-bowled. So, understanding that is quite tricky,” he detailed.

Bobat also played down the concern around the form of Phil Salt, as the England opener had an underwhelming T20 World Cup in the lead up to the IPL.

“Someone like Phil Salt is still ranked in one of the top. Not recently, but top two or three T20 batters in the world. So there's enough depth of confidence there. He also really enjoys being with RCB, his partnership with Virat. Salt made just 130 runs from eight matches at an average of 16.25, and it impacted England’s charge in the Power Play negatively.

“I'm pretty sure we'll see at the start of the season Salt doing his thing.” he said.