Andy Flower’s appointment as RCB head coach brings with it promise and blooms maximum potential

“Winning mentality” is a phrase often used in context of the game of cricket, specifically in the slam-bang format of T20 where even a minute’s worth of lapse in concentration can have catastrophic consequences on match results. One man who has imbibed this mentality in teams not just at the domestic or franchise level but even on the international stage is 55-year-old Andy Flower, who will don a new role as RCB head coach for IPL 2024.

Flower’s decorated CV comes decked with a plethora of titles to his name in a coaching career that has spanned over a decade. The Zimbabwean famously coached the England cricket team to three back-to-back Ashes titles from 2009 to 2013, two wins at home sandwiched by a memorable 2-1 series victory away on Australian shores. 

England also clinched their first-ever T20 World Cup title in 2010 with Flower at the helm of affairs, adding to his set of remarkable feats during his tenure with the Three Lions. Not just was he immensely successful at the international level, he carried forth his legacy as one of the sport’s best coaches in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Abu Dhabi T10, The Hundred and in the recently-concluded ILT20 competition. 

Before Flower took over the responsibility of coaching the Multan Sultans, they had never qualified for the playoffs of the PSL. Once he joined forces with the Sultans, not just did they win the PSL in 2021, they topped the points table twice (2020, 2022) and made the finals in the previous two editions of Pakistan’s premier T20 competition. 

Flower also overturned the formerly-known St Lucia Zouks fortunes in the CPL – prior to the Zimbabwean’s appointment as head coach in 2021, the team had managed only one playoffs appearance in seven seasons. Fuelled by the Flower blueprint, the Kings made consecutive finals, first in 2021 and then in 2022, stamping their authority as one of the most powerful teams in the tournament. 

The ICC Hall of Famer also has a ‘midas touch’ of his own, having led the Gulf Giants (2023, ILT20), Trent Rockets (2022, The Hundred) and Maratha Arabians (2019, Abu Dhabi T10) to title wins in his first season with all three teams, further highlighting why he is regarded as one of world cricket’s best coaches. 

In Flower, Faf du Plessis and his men will have not just have a man at the helm who knows how to win tournaments but someone who coaches by the #PlayBOLD philosophy, and ahead of another exciting IPL season comes a brand new chapter for RCB, one brimming and blooming of maximum potential.