Mike Hesson pleased RCB did not rely solely on retained players this season

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) wait for the Indian Premier League (IPL) title continued after they suffered a thrashing at the hands of Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2. 

Reflecting on the season, RCB's director of cricket Mike Hesson mentioned that the fact they did not solely rely on the retained players alone was the most pleasing factor in the campaign. Ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, RCB retained former skipper Virat Kohli, Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and pacer Mohammed Siraj.

"If you rely solely on two or three players, you're not going to make it to the playoffs," Hesson said at the post-match press conference.

"The beauty of our side has been we didn't necessarily rely on all of our retained players. We built a squad around our retained players, but we didn't necessarily have to rely on them for every game. 

"That was probably the most pleasing aspect, the fact that so many different players stood out.

"Mohammed Siraj is a fine bowler; he didn't have the best tournament, but we know that he will come back strong. He just didn't get those new ball wickets, didn't get the ball swinging, and lost a little bit of confidence, but as I said, he will bounce back.

"Glenn Maxwell had a good all-round season with both bat and ball - very high strike rate, average close to 30, strike rate of 170 and went for seven an over with the ball. Sure, you always want more, but he's had a pretty good tournament."

"At the top of the order, Virat (Kohli) and Faf (du Plessis). Obviously, we started with Virat at three and moved him to the top and he certainly got better and better as the season went on. 

"Look, he was in really good touch in the last four or five innings. There are always things you want to tweak, when you get knocked out of a tournament, there are always areas we need to improve, but all in all, pleased with the way the team gelled this season."

RCB were well-placed at 123 for 3 at the end of 15 overs with two well-set batters at the crease. However, they ost a flurry of wickets to eventually finish at 157 for 8. Hesso reckons his side were 20 runs short.

"[At] 123 for 3 with five overs to go, we were very much in a position to get potentially 175-180 with Maxwell set along with [Rajat] Patidar," Hesson said.

"We lost those two wickets and then in the last three overs, Obed McCoy and Krishna bowled nicely, and we struggled to get any momentum. We only got 30 odd off the last five, probably leaving us 20 short."

The likes of Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror and others stepped up on many instances which was key in having a strong Indian core, Hesson acknowledged.

Speaking of the positives RCB could take from the campaign, Hesson said, "Probably the non-established players, in terms of the fact that they've now established themselves as an Indian core."

"Think about Patidar, Shahbaz, Lomror. From a bowling point of view, Harshal Patel was exceptional. DK came in and performed an incredibly tough role. We really struggled to get consistency and he was probably one of the most consistent players at the back end of the innings.

"They were real strong points. Josh Hazlewood was impressive, Wanindu Hasaranga, at the time of us getting knocked out, has the purple cap, as he got a lot of middle over wickets. 

"We needed a little more in the powerplay from the wickets point of view, and with the bat, we left ourselves with a little bit, but otherwise, we were pretty good."