Mike Hesson opens up on his experience of leading RCB to three consecutive IPL playoffs

Mike Hesson has been an eminent luminary as part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore think-thank, and he continues to drive the team in the right direction for the past four seasons now. Hesson, the Director of Cricket Operations at RCB has a decorated CV, with the team making play-offs appearances thrice under his guidance. 

In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, Hesson opened up about the three and half seasons that he has been leading the team in his role. Talking about the environment in Bengaluru with fans who love their cricket making it that much more exciting, Mike Hesson said, “It's been great. Everyone involved in RCB has talked about how great Chinnaswamy is, and it certainly hasn't under-delivered in terms of the intensity and the whole environment around it. The drive to the ground, seeing the whole city behind the team, it's a pretty cool place to be. We are pretty keen to put on a show, and we've played pretty well at home this year as well.”

He also shed some light on what the pressure of playing at Chinnaswamy is like, stating, “You get used to the conditions. Each pitch here is slightly different, so it's not like you can just plug and play; you have to adapt to it. It's a great place to bat, especially for top-order batters, and as the tournament unfolds, different players will be exposed to different challenges. But when you play six of your first eight at Chinnaswamy, it's a tough ask for some.”

Mike also spoke about how when he first arrived in Bengaluru, the franchise hadn’t qualified for the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and the pressure was blowing through the roof. Mike highlighted how he managed to change the situation, stating, “We'd obviously struggled for a couple of years. It was just about coming in and working with the people we had here to try and give some real consistency and structure around how we want to play the game, and how that would work with the types of players we want for the conditions we are likely to play in.”

He further stated, “That was a challenge because we didn't really know where the tournaments were going to be each year. You could pick a team for Chinnaswamy and not know whether you're going to be here or not. But I think across the last three years, we've provided a really stable platform for the playing group. It's very hard to think that you're going to be consistent on the park if off the park we are inconsistent, so that's one of the things we've definitely worked really hard to bring.”

Hesson concluded by saying, “There is some satisfaction of being the only team that has made the playoffs three years in a row, but it's also provided some frustration as well. The fact that we've got ourselves some opportunities and we haven't quite played our best cricket at the right time. Winning tournaments is about firing at the right time - and making sure that obviously, you make the playoffs first. There is a little sense of satisfaction but a sense of a job unfulfilled just yet.”