RCB is one of the most followed franchise of the tournament and the reason behind that is none other than players like Virat Kohli.

Earlier, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle had also played with the same franchise and hold the massive fan following and now the franchise is looking for a new backroom staff fans started urging RCB to appoint de Villiers as the head coach, here are the reactions:

Who Could Replace Hesson, Bangar In RCB?

It’s yet not clear whether RCB will go for a foreign or an Indian head coach.

Other franchises have proactively begun giving shape to their coaching set-up. Justin Langer, a former Australia opener and coach, has been hired as the head coach of the Lucknow Super Giants to take over for Andy Flower.

Andy Flower is as of now in conversations with other franchises and could remain in the IPL as a coach of another team.

The post Calls To Hire AB De Villiers As RCB Coach Gain Momentum As Franchise Part Ways With Mike Hesson, Sanjay Bangar appeared first on Cricket Country.

As per a report from Indian Express, the fan-favourite franchise is looking for a new coaching staff but the future of the bowling coach Adam Griffith with the team is still uncertain.

Hesson and Bangar, who had been in their respective positions for five years, are said to have a strong bond with RCB’s former captain Virat Kohli.

The franchise is now desperate to have somebody in the camp who can acquire groundbreaking thoughts and help them in ending their trophy drought. In the recently concluded season, the team failed to even reach the playoffs, disappointing their massive fan following.

Who Could Replace Hesson, Bangar In RCB?

It’s yet not clear whether RCB will go for a foreign or an Indian head coach.

Other franchises have proactively begun giving shape to their coaching set-up. Justin Langer, a former Australia opener and coach, has been hired as the head coach of the Lucknow Super Giants to take over for Andy Flower.

Andy Flower is as of now in conversations with other franchises and could remain in the IPL as a coach of another team.

The post RCB Release Mike Hesson, Sanjay Bangar After Underwhelming Outing In IPL 2023: Report appeared first on Cricket Country.

While the team management will not discard the time-tested method of sending scouts to unearth promising talent, RCB will also deploy AI technology to supplement their efforts.

“We think our scouting needs to go a little bit deeper than sending regular scouts to tournaments. There’s a lot of untapped talent and potential throughout the whole country,” Hesson said at a press conference ahead of the Women’s Premier League (WPL).

“So, we have an artificial intelligence system, where we look at some key metrics. From a bowling perspective, it will be around pace. From a batting perspective, it will be around different positions that they get into. Once we identify talent there, we can bring them into camps or we can go and watch them at specific tournaments,” he added.

Hesson said the RCB are looking to spot talent at a very young age in order to train and prepare them adequately.

“We’re trying to look far beyond just the mainstream tournaments or first-class cricket or state cricket. We’re trying to look at underage talent, talent from the extremities of the country, people that potentially aren’t in teams already,” he said.

“The players we’re looking at might be a year away from actually being a part of the RCB. But we can identify them, we can watch them over a period of time and just see how they develop. That’s certainly how we also operate in both the men’s and women’s programme,” Hesson said.

RCB might have put up an enviable roster with Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Heather Knight and Dane van Niekerk in its ranks but head coach Ben Sawyer is clear that the big names would be rotated during the WPL, starting Saturday.

Along with these four celebrated names, RCB have also roped in legendary New Zealander Sophie Devine and WBBL (Big Bash League) star Erin Burns, and Sawyer accepted that he is spoilt for choice.

Asked about his picks as top-four overseas players, Sawyer, the current New Zealand women’s team coach, didn’t give a straight answer.

“All six will play a role. We play four games in the first six days. We will have different match-ups against the teams and I am fortunate to have them,” Sawyer said.

“Don’t expect us to operate with the same four in the whole tournament. We have got some multi-skilled players. Pretty sure you will see all six in the tournament,” said Sawyer.

Sawyer has worked as a coach in The Hundred and WBBL and is confident WPL will take women’s cricket to a new level.

“That’s a scary thought for an international player of what they are going to come up against in future. I’ve seen the impact that WBBL and The Hundred have had. It’s (WPL) just going to take it (women’s cricket) to another level.” The Indian women’s team is yet to win a global trophy at the senior level and are sometimes labelled “chokers”. Asked if the WPL will help them get rid of the mental block in crunch games, Sawyer was empathetic.

“Once they win one or two games, there is going to be no stopping the Indian team.” The 45-year-old has worked in women’s franchise leagues in England (Birmingham Phoenix – The Hundred) and Australia (Sydney Sixers – WBBL), and based on those experience, he said its only in the initial years of league tournaments that big names matter before every member in the squad understands her role and becomes a vital cog.

“Maybe at the start, you are relying on the big names but in seven-eight years’ time, every single player in the team had an important role to play and was no longer seen as just making up the numbers,” he said, recalling the early days in WBBL.

“The experience some of the younger players will get at the international level will take them to another level. They will be exposed to playing international-style cricket week in and week out during the competition,” he added.

Sania perfect role model, says Hesson India’s tennis great Sania Mirza is a perfect role model and her inclusion as RCB’s mentor for the upcoming WPL will inspire the team, feels the team’s director of cricket Mike Hesson.

The 36-year-old six-time Grand Slam winner recently retired from tennis.

“No matter what sport you are from, but coming up as an elite and challenging the norms in terms of an athlete, wanting to embrace pressure and how to deal with it, and not be afraid of it, for women’s sport, Sania is a huge icon,” Hesson said.

Hesson said RCB have plenty of experts to talk about the technical nitty-gritty of the game and the former world No. 1 in doubles would give the players an edge by talking about the mental challenges she faced in her professional career.

“The more you talk about pressure and emotions of the game, and the challenges rather than talking technique for which we have got plenty of experts, I think it’s exciting,” he added.

The WPL will commence on March 4 with Gujarat Giants taking on Mumbai Indians.

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Glenn Maxwell was one of the most crucial assets of the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp and played some astonishing knocks for the RCB side. However, the injury worried fans a lot about Maxwell’s involvement in the 16th edition of IPL.

As per the reports, Maxwell broke his leg while running in the backyard with a fellow celebrating birthday. He slipped as his leg get trapped and the fracture happened. However, neither of the two was intoxicated at the moment.

National selector George Bailey said “Glenn is in good spirits. It was an unfortunate accident and we feel for Glenn in the circumstances given he was in great touch in his last few games. Glenn is a critical part of our white-ball structure and we will continue to support him through his recovery and rehabilitation.”

Glenn Maxwell is among the players retained by the RCB teams and is a crucial players for them in the middle order and his absence from the squad can be troublesome for the RCB camp.

However, according to the reports Mike Hesson has confirmed that Glenn Maxwell would be fit by the time of IPL 2023 and would be part of the squad. The 16th edition of IPL would start around late march. So, there’s a huge chance that Maxwell recovers well by that period.

The post RCB Director Confirms Glenn Maxwell’s Presence In IPL 2023 Despite Horrific Leg Fracture appeared first on Cricket Country.

“We are always talking with all our players. He was looking good. He was aggressive. He hasn’t had good amount of fortune and is frustrated as anyone,” Hesson said.

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RCB, despite their decent performance in IPL 2022 so far have looked vulnerable, with the likes of Virat Kohli and Anuj Rawat woefully out of form at the top, leaving skipper Faf du Plessis occasionally and the middle- and lower-order to bail them out.

But on one of those rare occasions when the middle-order too failed to fire, RCB were bundled out for 68 in 16.1 overs for their second-lowest IPL total by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Brabourne on April 23. The resurgent Kane Williamson-led SRH then scored a massive nine-wicket win with 12 overs to spare.

Hesson took note of the momentum-shattering loss, saying, “We struggled to get into the game. We struggled to gain any form of momentum at all. SRH bowled nicely in those conditions. We struggled to combat it.”

He then broke down the game. “When you lose three early wickets, you always try and fight your way back. We have already done this a few times. (Against SRH) we couldn’t. Everything we did, didn’t work out. We got on a certain bit of rollercoaster. I think the lower order scraped pretty hard to get us to a total but clearly the total was never enough.”

Hesson then shifted his focus at the RCB top-order, saying, “The top-order hasn’t really fired yet. We are not overthinking too much about it. We know that there are high quality players in that top-order. Some are firing on occasions and some not. That happens in T20 cricket. We won’t overthink that.”

Hesson also talked about RCB’s brilliant middle-order. “Our middle-order has been exceptional. They were asked to do another job. They were shouldered with the rebuilding job (vs SRH) which was a bit too far,” he conceded.

“Most teams on a game like this, they’re outplayed at some stage. You also win games as well. You outplay the oppositions too. We weren’t enough to get the better of Sunrisers. We need to come back stronger in our next game,” he added.

The New Zealander said that while the team could ill-afford such a speed-breaker in the middle of the tournament, he will not over-analyse the loss.

“The last thing you do in the middle of the tournament is you have one bad day in office and start to over-analyse. When we have a good game, we don’t think much about it and believe in ourselves and its’s important that we do the same (after loss to SRH).”

Calls have grown to leave Kohli and Rawat out of the playing XI, while including top-order batter Rajat Patidar and all-rounder Mahipal Lomror in their place, with a fan saying that the team “didn’t have a solid 1, 2, 3 in-form players”, adding that Kohli and Anuj Rawat “need a break”.

The post Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat To Be Benched? Misfiring RCB Top-Order Leaves Mike Hesson Worried | IPL 2022 appeared first on Cricket Country.

RCB will take on SRH at the Brabourne Stadium later on Saturday and with SRH gradually moving up the points table on the back of four successive wins, the momentum is on their side.

Hesson, when asked what strategy Williamson might employ against RCB, said, “Well, Kane’s pretty methodical in terms of how he prepares. He’s very professional. He’s obviously brought that team together after a tough start losing the first couple of games. There was talk about them being out of their depth, and they’re far from that. He’s got the best out of their seam bowling attack.”

At the halfway mark of the league phase of IPL 2022, RCB sit third on the points table level on points with the other two teams above with five wins. With the SRH challenge next and an important second half of the season to look forward to, Hesson felt that an ideal situation at this stage for RCB would have been a top-two place.

“You want to push for one of those top-two spots, and that’s something we’re trying to do — getting better every game, and if we do that, we’re gonna give ourselves a chance,” said Hesson.

On what does he make of the SRH team’s composition ahead of the big evening game, Hesson said, “It’s a diverse group — left-armers, right-armers, plenty of pace on offer, and if Washington Sundar is back, some experience with the spin bowling as well. They’re a well-rounded bowling attack. With the bat, obviously, Kane carries quite a burden there with the bat upfront, and his wicket is gonna be huge for us.”

The post IPL 2022: Mike Hesson Wary of SRH Skipper Kane Williamson’s ‘Methodical Ways’ Ahead of Clash appeared first on Cricket Country.

RCB will take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a crucial game at the DY Patil Stadium later on Tuesday, with a chance for the winner to go top of the IPL table. The two teams are currently bunched with Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad on eight points, with only the Net Run Rate (NRR) separating them on the points table.

In fact, a close look at the two competing sides on Tuesday shows that they are closely matched in all departments of the game, and Hesson conceded the two had “similar balance”.

“Yeah, very similar balance in terms of the way we structure up and we look to use our bowlers. Obviously, we both bat relatively deep in the order; it’s something that both teams looked at at the auction. Both well-balanced sides with some quality up top and power through the middle,” said Hesson.

Hesson added that though both teams were like mirror images of each other in terms of strengths and weaknesses, it won’t translate into added advantage or disadvantage for any side.

“I don’t think it makes a huge difference to be honest because we pretty much focus on what we do from a batting perspective. Sure, there’s a matter of matchups but, we don’t get too caught up in those, making sure we don’t have two left-handers against an offie, and with the short side, making sure that we always have an opportunity to access the short side. That’s probably more important than the matchup.

“From a bowling point of view, I think we match up pretty well against them. You know our top order like pace on the ball, they’ve got plenty of pace up front. They’ve got some quality spinners, very crafty spinners in the likes of Krunal (Pandya), and obviously, (Ravi) Bishnoi is quite a unique character. There’s a bit of work gone into how we’re gonna combat that,” opined Hesson.

With four teams bunched up on eight points as the tournament approaches the halfway mark, Hesson said his players were constantly trying to improve, victory or defeat notwithstanding, adding that it’s important to play your best cricket towards the back end of the tournament.

“We are continuing to try and improve, and that’s the constant message that we’re sending everybody. Whether we win, whether we lose, we review with a bit of detail, and we’re trying to get better. The reality is you have to be playing your best cricket towards the back end of the tournament. Not only to progress, but if you do progress, you have to be playing some good cricket too. We’re pretty methodical in terms of that.

“We still have players who haven’t quite hit their straps yet, who are training really hard, hitting the ball nicely, ball starting to come out nicely for the likes of (Mohd) Siraj. We’re just sort of focused on us,” he said.

(With Agency Inputs)

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In a run-fest at DY Patil Sports Stadium on Sunday, RCB were unable to defend 205 as Punjab chased down the total with an over to spare. Moreover, RCB conceded 22 extras with the ball with pacer Mohammed Siraj giving away 10 of them.

“We did not execute as well as we know we need to. I think that’s pretty obvious. We were just a little bit off in terms of being able to execute the plans we had in place. Obviously, we missed wide a lot – even though we were going for the wide line, we missed the wide line a few too many times, and we know we didn’t execute as well as we know we need to,” said Hesson in a video posted by the franchise on Twitter.

“So, certainly, plenty of things to work on, some really good things from a batting point of view. Akash Deep got his first IPL wicket – that was a big thing for him, and we’re obviously proud of him. But all in all, we were just a little bit off the mark in terms of our execution,” added Hesson.

Hesson refused to single out dew as a reason why Bangalore’s bowling attack couldn’t defend 205. “Look, it definitely changed after 10 overs. The dew started to come in a little bit, towards the back end there was quite a lot of that. Look, there’s no excuse.”

“At times we had the game very much in the balance. We fought hard to get back into it. Absolutely there was dew, and the ball slid on, but we still missed in terms of where we wanted to hit, so that’s something we will accept and we will obviously have to get right.”

With the bat, Bangalore had a sluggish start but Faf du Plessis made a stunning turnaround to make a stunning 57-ball 88 and was well-supported by Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 29-ball 41 and Dinesh Karthik’s undefeated late blitz of 14-ball 32.

“I thought we fought really well at the back. Obviously, it was tough; the first ten overs it was a little bit sticky. The fact that we got through that, lost only one wicket sort of gave us the chance to increase that momentum post the time out. We saw some exceptional batting from both Faf and Virat, and then DK at the end to get us a really good score. As I said, obviously it got easier to bat as things went on,” concluded Hesson.

The post IPL 2022: Royal Challengers Bangalore Got a Little Bit Off The Mark In Terms of Execution, Admits Mike Hesson appeared first on Cricket Country.

Virat has given absolutely everything to this franchise as a captain. He has given his heart and soul. It is pretty apparent that when you resign from a role, you want a break. He wants to enjoy his time at RCB as a senior player and as a batsman and we are very respectful of that as well,” Hesson told at RCB unbox event.

“Just because the situation has changed within here doesn’t mean that the situation has changed in terms of him wanting to come and win games for RCB. We spoke to Virat about the leadership options and Faf was someone he was really excited about. I have also leaned on AB de Villiers for his thoughts as well,” he said.

“Virat has set a standard that’s very hard to maintain. His ability to convert is second to none. So when he doesn’t convert for a period of time, we start to worry. So when he gets 1, he will get 3 or 4. The fact that he’s still rated in the top 5 Test players in the world suggests that he is still getting pretty good output in terms of his runs. He is still scoring hard runs, which can often be underestimated. The fact that he’s not going to captain RCB this year will allow him to play with a bit more freedom,” he added.

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