Not Phil Salt or Bhuvneshwar Kumar, this player is RCB's 'most important pick' in mega auction: Head coach

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday finally ended the losing streak on their home ground after they defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 11 runs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Their pacer Josh Hazlewood was declared the Player of the Match for his stellar performance with the ball. However, RCB's head coach Andy Flower talked about the best pick for their team in the mega auction is an all-rounder player in the squad. Yes, you read it right! Andy Flower believes classified spin bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya is the 'most important pick' for the franchise during last year's mega auction, as the seasoned bowler continues to play the role of an unsung hero in RCB's quest for a maiden IPL trophy.

What did Andy Flower say?

In the post-match press conference, head coach Andy Flower said, ''Krunal was a very important pick for us in the auction. We liked his all-around capabilities, but also his experience. He has experienced winning the IPL, he has experienced captaining in the IPL, and he has played international cricket. He also has got fire in his belly, and I really like that. Obviously, both brothers do. So he was an important pick for us in the auction.'' 

Andy also credited RCB's bowling coach Malolan Rangarajan, who worked closely with Krunal and devised different tactics during a game. ''I think he has done some good work without spin coach. I think he is an excellent all-round coach. I think they have some good conversations about the tactics that Krunal is employing. They have been working well together. It is great to watch him operate like that,'' he added.

RCB vs RR

Royal Challengers Bengaluru came out to bat first on their home ground, with an aim to break the losing streak on the venue. They put 205 runs on board in 20 overs, including blistering 50s from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal aka DDP. Chasing a mountain-like total, Rajasthan Royals started off well, but after the end of Powerplay, things went all South for the Riyan Parag-led side. In the middle over, Krunal Pandya put a break to RR's runs in the 206-run chase and Josh Hazlewood nearly finished things off them in the 19th over.