CHENNAI: On June 3, 2025, after a dreamy night came to an end in Ahmedabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru Director of Cricket Mo Bobat sat in the team dressing room and addressed the players and support staff who were soaking in their first IPL triumph.
In the video shared by the franchise, he conveyed the following message. "I'm going to ask you to do something," Bobat began. "I'm going to ask you to really, really make sure we get addicted to this feeling, because this is a start. Not many teams have won back-to-back IPLs. It's happened twice before. So get addicted to the feeling, because it's that feeling that drives the hunger to go again next year."
Less than a year later, RCB have showed that hunger again. They didn't just go back-to-back, but also dominated through the season to keep the IPL trophy in Bengaluru. How did RCB go from being a memeworthy to champion material.
The answer lies in the transformation that happened off the field. Virat Kohli has been a constant with RCB for 19 years, but it wasn't until 2024 the emphasis shifted towards building a strong bowling attack. One of the things the RCB support staff have admitted and experienced over the years is how a bad mega auction could make the team lose the three-year cycle.
That is where things changed in 2025. Andy Flower as head coach has been there since 2023. Bobat joined in 2024. Dinesh Karthik joined the staff in 2025. They had their first mega auction together that year and the squad they assembled told the story. From going all-in for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya and Josh Hazlewood to covering bases with Tim David, Phil Salt and Devdutt Padikkal, this team put together a well-rounded squad that could dominate if all players were fit and available. The result is there to see with back-to-back titles. Ask Bobat how crucial that auction was and he said: "I don't know whether you can win a competition at the auction. I think you can probably lose one at the auction.
"It's quite hard to undo things that you then either regret or don't like about your team structure or even personnel, once you've got through your first mega auction. And then, you're only dealing with mini auctions in the subsequent years, and it gets quite difficult in the mini auction years. We were clear on what we were trying to build as a squad in terms of team structure. We got pretty much everything we wanted and more at the auction. We came out of that auction very happy - like most teams tend to do after an auction - but pretty confident that we could do the things that we wanted to do," he added during a virtual press conference on Monday.
If the mega auction was half the job done, the support staff did the rest behind the scenes. Karthik worked with all Indian batters one-on-one and had open conversations with them. Every Indian batter, including Patidar, have spoken about how they communicated to 'DK bhai'. The skipper also attributed the bowling attack's success to Omkar Salvi. "We cannot see him in the meeting room, talking to players. He spent a lot of time one-on-one," Patidar said, before calling Flower one of the best coaches he has ever worked with.
The skipper, who celebrated his 33rd birthday with the trophy next to him, has been with the team since 2021. He felt the paradigm shift happened in the culture of the team from thereon. "A lot of changes in the mindset of the players. I think all credit goes to the coaching staff," Patidar said. "The way they are handling their players, especially the new players who are coming in, because they are also an important part of the team. The coaching staff is treating every player equally. So, I think that is the change I feel," he revealed.
Bobat reiterated the mindset change among players as well. "I always had it in my mind that once we won that first one (title), we needed to not settle for that, because like any sports team, you want to have almost like a bit of an infinite goal that you're just always striving towards achieving something that constantly inspires your fans. From the moment we finished last season, we've tried to push people to be ambitious about going again," he said.
From the outside, it may seem like hyperbole. But if it were the case, 2025 would have been an exception. Even now, with a certain degree of confidence, one could say that they will start favourites come next year if the current crop of players remain fit and available for the season. Which is why, after 17 years of heartbreak and agony, it is safe to say that their Hosa adhyaya (new chapter in Kannada) is here.
And unless the new owners decide to make drastic changes, they look set to build a dynasty in the years to come.