3 players RCB could sign in IPL 2024 who flourished under Andy Flower
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have finalized the appointment of Andy Flower as their head coach after parting ways with stalwarts Mike Hesson and Sanjay Bangar. The three-time finalists are expecting the renowned coach to end their silverware drought in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season and beyond.
The former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper comes with a serious reputation. He has a coaching career filled with laurels and will be on the lookout to add the IPL as well to his trophy cabinet. He won the T20 World Cup with England in 2010 and also led them to the No.1 Test ranking during his tenure.
Despite leaving the role of head coach in 2014, he was involved with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for a couple more years as the technical director of Elite Coaching.
Venturing into the global franchise domain soon after, Flower took charge of teams in the Pakistan Super League (Multan Sultans), Caribbean Premier League (St. Lucia Kings), The Hundred (Trent Rockets), International League T20 (Gulf Giants), and the Indian Premier League (Kings XI Punjab and Lucknow Super Giants).
RCB fans have every right to expect good things from the veteran coach and his chances to get silverware will increase if he gets the players of his choice, which will preferably be the ones that have performed well under him in the past.
#1 Richard Gleeson (Delhi Bulls and Gulf Giants)
The England right-arm pacer is associated with Andy Flower through two separate franchises. Richard Gleeson represents the Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10 League and the Gulf Giants in the ILT20.
Flower initially inquired about Gleeson through Northamptonshire head coach in 2018 for his England Lions side. The pacer made the most of his opportunity by picking up figures of 18-5-43-2.
Gleeson, who made his international debut in the home series against India in 2022, showcased his raw pace and ability to extract bounce off any surface to be among the pool of pacers for the national T20I side. He took six wickets in five matches in the inaugural ILT20 season at an economy of only 5.63.
Gleeson could potentially serve as a backup for Josh Hazlewood, who has been battling injury issues of late and has lost a bit of steam. The pacer could potentially thrive bowling in the powerplay at the Chinnaswamy Stadium with the new ball as well.
#2 Dawid Malan (Trent Rockets)
Middle-order batting was a huge headache for RCB in the 2023 IPL. They missed a neutralizing candidate who could hold one end as Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell carried out their work from the other side. Rajat Patidar fitted the billing, but he missed the tournament due to a heel injury.
Dawid Malan played a crucial hand in the Andy Flower-guided Trent Rockets' title win in the 2022 edition of The Hundred. The left-handed batter scored 377 runs in nine innings at an average of 53.85 and a strike rate of 53.85.
He could slot in the middle over to balance the powershift from the firepower-packed top order to the rather sedate middle and lower-middle order. He has been successful with the national team in the past as well, reaching the summit of the rankings at one stage as well.
Malan made his IPL debut with the Punjab Kings in 2021 when Flower was part of the coaching staff. He could only make a single appearance, scoring a run-a-ball 26 before the tournament was suspended due to a bio-bubble breach.
#3 Blessing Muzarbani (Multan Sultans)
The Zimbabwe right-arm pacer is a sensational talent, who has done all he could to avail maximum opportunities in the overseas leagues. Blessing Muzarabani worked with Andy Flower across the 2021 and 2022 seasons of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as part of the Multan Sultans franchise. He came in as a replacement player for Obed McCoy
The franchise was crowned as champions in the 2021 edition, where Muzarabani took 10 wickets in six matches at an economy of 7.71. The prospect of the pacer being part of the RCB squad is exciting to ponder, especially with the pace he has and the bounce that his two-meter frame could extract from the Chinnaswamy wicket with the new ball.
Interestingly, Muzarabani was close to joining Andy Flower's LSG as a replacement player for Mark Wood in the 2022 season. However, the management went with the experienced death bowler in Andrew Tye. He went unsold in the IPL 2023 mini-auction in December 2022 as well.
Can Andy Flower guide RCB to their first-ever IPL title? Let us know what you think.