RCB Didn't Rely Only On Retained Players, Build Squad Around Them: Mike Hesson

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson said on Friday that the most pleasing aspect of the side's game during the season was that they did not have to rely solely on their retained players. An explosive century by Jos Buttler sent Royal Challengers Bangalore out of the tournament and Rajasthan Royals to their first IPL finals since 2008 as they chased down the target of 158 set by RCB in 18.1 overs. For RCB, it was only Rajat Patidar who looked like the only real threat throughout the game with his 58-run knock.

"If you rely solely on one or two players, you are not gonna make it to the playoffs. The beauty of our side is that we did not only rely on our retained players. We did build a squad around them but we did not have to rely on them during every game. The most pleasing aspect was that so many different players stood up," said Hesson during a post-match conference.

About the match, Hesson said that at the end of 15 overs, the side was in a great position with Maxwell and Patidar settled with 123/3 on the board.

"We were in a position to get 175, potentially 180. In the last three overs, Obed McCoy and Prasidh Krishna bowled well and we struggled to get any momentum. You do not want to get 30 off the last five, they probably left us 20 runs short," he added.

Hesson admitted that the side's death overs batting was exceptional throughout the season, except for the match against RR that sent them out of the tournament.

"There are a number of guys standing alongside Dinesh Karthik, who has been outstanding for us this season. Patidar (Rajat Patidar) has power, Shahbaz (Shahbaz Ahmed) has shown he has power, Lomror (Mahipal Lomror) has shown power," he added.

Hesson said that