'For the first time in a number of years': RCB coach head coach Simon Katich highlights 'positives' from IPL 2020

Apr 03, 2021 02:01 PM IST

Share Via

Copy Link

RCB head coach, ahead of IPL 2021, spoke about the biggest takeaways from IPL 2020, adding that they backed the youngsters and it paid rich dividends.

Karnataka batsman Devdutt Padikkal had a debut season to remember in the UAE. During Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season, the left-hander scored 473 runs and topped the charts for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

File Photo of RCB head coach Simon Katich(Twitter)

RCB head coach, ahead of IPL 2021, spoke about the biggest takeaways from IPL 2020, adding that they backed the youngsters and it paid rich dividends. With the likes of Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, and Navdeep Saini coming to the fore, the Bangalore outfit made it to the playoffs.

ALSO READ| From SRK's clash to Ashwin's Mankading: A look at top five controversies in IPL

"We felt the last season there were lots of positives. For the first time in a number of years, we got to the playoffs. But the other part is we did back in the young Indian talents,” Katich said on a video posted by the official handle of RCB.

Former Australian cricketer added that some of the youngsters went on to play the entire season as they proved their mettle on the big stage.

“We backed the young kid at the top of the order - Devdutt Padikkal. He did not let us down, he was brilliant. We backed Washington Sundar, he played a full season, he was outstanding. He has now played some good cricket for India. We backed in young Siraj (Mohammed Siraj) and Saini (Navdeep Saini) with the ball, they played almost the entire season for us.

ALSO READ| With a bit of new, most of old, can Dhoni revive himself & CSK from the ashes?

"So these four young Indian players there we backed in and gave games on top of Virat Kohli and Yuzvendra Chahal who are very experienced players so we felt like we gained a lot from that. Experience from them and developing a core of Indian players," Katich added.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will begin their campaign against Mumbai Indians in the season opener on April 9.

Orange Cap in IPL 2025, Purple Cap in IPL 2025 , and IPL Points Table 2025 – stay ahead with real-time match updates, team standings, and insights. Check live cricket score , player stats, and ICC rankings of top players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli . Get expert analysis, IPL match previews, and in-depth coverage of IPL 2025 and IPL Match Today along with IND W vs SL W Live on HT Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times – your trusted source for cricket news.