Bengaluru, March 24 Royal Challengers Bengaluru Director of Cricket Mo Bobat on Tuesday urged the players not to be arrogant after winning their maiden IPL title last year and to retain the "humility" to repeat the success in a new season.
RCB defeated Punjab Kings in the 2025 IPL final to win their first trophy, which their passionate fans had been waiting for since 2008.
"This is a new campaign. Similar to last season, we weren't burdened by 17 years of experience. This year, we're also not carrying the ego of a single year of success. We need to start with humility," said Bobat at a pre-season press conference here on Tuesday.
"It's great to have won the first trophy, as it means we can look forward to and not have to answer those kinds of questions for much longer. Hopefully, we can focus on what's in front of us," he added.
Bobat also had a different perspective on RCB's long wait for the trophy and the impact it could have on the players' psyche.
"I'm not sure I'd call it a jinx. Franchise cricket is very transient, and players come and go. While our fans and the franchise might have been chasing that elusive trophy for 17 years, that's not the view of everyone involved.
"For example, if I take myself, I was only in my second season with RCB. So, while I'm aware of the many years we haven't won the trophy, I'm not personally carrying that baggage. That gives me a lot of fresh energy and optimism. This is true for much of the squad," he added.
However, Bobat also acknowledged the "unique" situation of players like Virat Kohli, who has been associated with RCB since 2008.
"Virat is a unique case. Obviously, he's experienced the highs and lows of many years. So, for him personally, it was a significant emotional experience at the end of the (2025) final.
"And that was a beautiful moment to share with players like AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, other iconic players for the franchise. But I would say that not everyone would have experienced it the same way," he said.
RCB had to abruptly halt their celebrations after 11 fans were killed during a stampede near the stadium on June 4, 2025.
The incident also led to a series of events, including uncertainty surrounding matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, eventually leading to the division of home matches between Bengaluru (5) and Raipur (2).
Bobat acknowledged that it was not an ideal start to the season.
"It was probably a distraction, as clarity is important. I prefer to try and assemble teams that can adapt to any surfaces and conditions. One of the benefits of playing in the IPL is that different grounds require different tactics, maybe different combinations.
"You're already trying to adapt between red soil and black soil surfaces. So, I don't think it would have significantly affected our decision-making. Ideally, you want these things clarified as early as possible," he added.
RCB also had to deal with the injury of key pacer Josh Hazlewood, who would miss at least the initial part of the 2026 IPL.
The Australian pacer played a significant role in winning the title last year, taking 22 wickets and restricting opposition teams even in the Power Play.
"Josh has missed a lot of cricket recently, so he's currently in a return-to-play programme. We are closely collaborating with Josh and Cricket Australia, and our medical teams are working together on a day-to-day basis on his programme.
"As soon as he reaches a point where CA is happy, he'll come over, and we hope to have him with us soon," he said.
The seasoned coach also viewed the absence of Hazlewood as symptomatic of the congested cricket calendar, which is the norm in modern cricket.
"It's probably a symptom of the congested cricket schedule, isn't it? Any of us who follow cricket know how challenging that is, both domestically and internationally. 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 teams going through that at the moment because it's not easy. We try to communicate closely with the international governing bodies. Our medical team is excellent. They're always communicating with players and other governing body medical teams," he said.
Bobat hoped for balanced workload management because players cannot be put under a single, broad 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, days, and months are spent trying to understand fast bowling and the demands.
"It probably shows you that either we don't understand this area well enough or 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 downplayed 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 the top two or three T20 batters in the world. So, there's enough confidence there. He also really enjoys being with RCB, his partnership with Virat," he said.
Salt made just 130 runs from eight matches at an average of 16.25, which negatively impacted England's Power Play performance.
"I'm pretty sure we'll see Salt performing well at the start of the season," he concluded.