You're only as good as your players – Mo Bobat on RCB’s IPL 2025 triumph

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru lifted their maiden IPL trophy in 2025, beating Punjab Kings in what was a high-octane summit clash. However, apart from the on-field heroics, there were also massive movements behind the scenes which eventually led to the moment of glory.

One such instrumental figure behind the scenes for RCB was their Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat. Talking on the Big Basket presents RCB Podcast, he opened up why RCB has always believed in the player-first approach. He explained to the minutest of details that despite all the heavy lifting behind the curtains, it is the players who change it all with their excellent diligence.

Bobat said, “You're only as good as your players. So if we're a championship-winning team, it's because we've got championship-winning players. So I'd probably always start there. They deserve the most amount of credit. They're the guys who take the field. They deal with the weight of the shirt and the pressure and the expectation. They do incredible things in front of thousands of people.”

Underlining the balance which the management wanted to create, Bobat added, “Thankfully, we're hidden from that. So they deserve the most credit. The way they came together. We deliberately tried to seek a fairly senior team and some experience, and they were led brilliantly by Andy as head coach, Rajat as captain, and then the senior players, people like Virat, are always obviously leading the environment. So there'll be loads of things, but I always come back to that. That's the core bit of it. Get good players, create a good environment, and allow them to do their thing.”