Kolkata: Royal Challengers Bengaluru will begin the Indian Premier League season with an away fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Saturday, 22 March. The match marks the dawn of a new era for RCB, with Rajat Patidar set to lead the franchise as captain. Ahead of the match, head coach Andy Flower acknowledged the challenge ahead, expressed confidence in the team’s leadership and balance, and shared his thoughts on the evolving trends in the game.

On playing the Kolkata Knight Riders, he said, “They had a great season last year, but this is a new year, everyone has got new squads, we have had a great preparation period. We like the look of our squad. We are pretty much ready.”

As Patidar steps into the captaincy role, Flower backed the 31-year-old and emphasised the experienced core surrounding him. “We were conscious of building an experienced side in our recruitment, and in saying that, they will be able to give a lot of support to Rajat. I think he is really excited about this challenge, and we're right behind him.”

Flower also highlighted the significance of the early fixtures, particularly playing two away games against strong opposition. “It’s a really good challenge for us, in our first two games, to play away against Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings. It is a great opportunity for us to get stuck into this competition and have a great start in two big away games.”

With the Knight Riders boasting a formidable spin attack, Flower acknowledged the threat posed by Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. But RCB head into the encounterwith a formidable batting unit that includes the likes of Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David and Krunal Pandya.

“Chakravarthy is in really good form and we know about Narine over many years. But that is why you play this game at this level—it is to test yourself against the best in the world, and that is one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of playing international cricket or IPL cricket, which the standard is very much like international cricket and obviously all the excitement and energy that comes with playing top-class cricket in India comes with that as well”, he remarked,

Balanced Squad with Spin Bowling Options

On RCB’s spin bowling contingent, Flower expressed optimism about the balance in the squad. “Krunal was a significant part of our targeted players in the auction, and it's great to have him on board. He's a smart and courageous cricketer and again he's got leadership experience as well. He's a streetwise operator and he's obviously got class as a left-arm spinner, let alone as an all-rounder. That is comforting to have him in our group and leading the way in the spin department.”

Flower further highlighted the variety within the spin attack “Then we've got, on the wrist-spin front, Suyash, who's a very exciting young prospect with limited experience but a really high ceiling. We're hoping for great things from him, but we're also not expecting him to be Shane Warne from the beginning. We've got to be patient and let him learn from his experiences, and it's good that he's got these experienced cricketers around him and a captain that he'll be comfortable working with. To back them up, Swapnil Singh was good for us last year, and Liam Livingstone does a bit of everything.”

On evolving trends in the IPL

Flower also weighed in on the broader trend of higher scores in the IPL, attributing it to the evolving physicality and approach of modern batters. “A lot of the batters are becoming bigger and stronger and are starting to recognise the importance of it. But there's still place in the game for players like Virat Kohli as well. Obviously, he’s a super fit, strong young man as well. There's still space for high-quality, highly intelligent cricketers like that as well.”

Expanding on this shift, he added, “But there is a shift towards power. There's no doubt about that and we saw that in the scores. But you see just that in the selection of our batting unit, you will see the emphasis on power with just a couple of exceptions. And I think that is the way the game is going.”