RCB Bold diaries: Mike Hesson explains RCB’s strategy ahead of the IPL auction

In less than 24 hours, the IPL franchises will be going head on against each other in a room full of paddles and a gavel, kickstarting an auction that would see some big names going under the hammer for the latest edition of the IPL. It is time for the latest edition of the IPL Auction and when we talk about it, after all the advice and wisdom, it is eventually a few key men who takes the calls.

RCB's Director of Cricket Operations, Mike Hesson had a few important words, explaining RCB’s approach for the upcoming auction and what are the possible bases that they will be looking forward to covering when the paddles goes up in Kochi tomorrow.

Speaking on RCB’s Bold Diaries, Hesson first spoke about the fourth auction that he is going to be a part of with RCB and why it is different from the precursor edition of the tournament. Hesson said, “This is the first one after the big auction, pretty much of which we all are a part of. It’s a slightly different dynamic this time.”

He also talked about how the dynamics would change this time, stating, “Yeah, we had to challenge ourselves in review of our earlier squad. They were probably a lot more around in the retention phase. We were comfortable with the number of players we decided to retain. We are having the purse that we wanted. We are very comfortable with the bulk of our squad. It is just a matter of tweaking really. Tweaking areas that not only give us cover but also gives the reliability that makes us a lot more flexible. That will be the focus of this auction.”

Explaining the thought process behind retaining 18 players, and the long term focus that was kept in mind while making the decisions, Hesson added, “Retention is a part of our scouting system. Malolan was a part of that. We didn’t pick players that we hadn’t spent a lot of time looking at. That is why we decided to back the majority of the players. Not all of them had fantastic IPLs, but we have identified something in those players that we think are going to give us good performances last year or they are going to give us in the forthcoming year. There’s always a balance in your squad. Players that are ready to go, players that we think are very special but they need a little bit more time. And that’s why we were pleased to see the level of continuity and not everybody stayed and that’s fine. You have to get a level of attrition. But now that we know the gaps, we know how to fill them because we do have that flexibility.”