IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday confirmed the appointment of Zimbabwean international Andy Flower as their new head coach. The move comes after releasing Director of cricket operations Mike Hesson and head coach Sanjay Bangar from their duties after the IPL 2023. The franchise earlier did not renew the contracts of the two outgoing staff members.
The Bangalore-based team made the announcement on their social media handle. "We are beyond thrilled to welcome ICC Hall of Famer and T20 World Cup winning coach Andy Flower as the Head Coach of RCB Men’s team," RCB wrote in a photo caption on Twitter. "Andy’s experience of coaching IPL & T20 teams around the world, and leading his teams to titles at the PSL, ILT20, The Hundred and Abu Dhabi T10 will help in developing a championship winning mindset and take RCB’s Play Bold philosophy forward," the team added.
Mike Hesson, Sanjay Bangar released
The franchise also posted a confirmation of releasing Hesson and Bangar. Hesson joined the team in 2019, while Bangar took the batting consultant role ahead of IPL 2021. He was then named the head coach for IPL 2022 and 2023. "We thank Mike Hesson and Sanjay Bangar for their commendable work during the stints as director of cricket operations and head coach of RCB," the franchise wrote in another Tweet thanking the duo.
Flower has been in coaching staff duties for numerous teams. He was involved in the backroom staff of St. Lucia Zouks (CPL 2020), Multan Sultans (PSL 2021), and Gulf Giants (ILT20 2023). He was also with the Australian team as a consultant for the Ashes 2023 series.
Notably, Hesson joined the team in 2019 and the team went on to qualify for the playoffs for three successive years. They did not make it to the top four in 2023, missing a shot to the final four by just one win. Bangalore had their fates in their own hands when they took on Gujarat Titans in their last match of the group stage. However, due to Shubman Gill's terrific century, Bangalore got knocked out, pushing Mumbai Indians into the playoffs.
