England Cricket Board’s Performance Director Mo Bobat was appointed as the Director of Cricket for Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of IPL 2024.
Bobat has been with the ECB for the last 12 years and has served as their performance director since 2019. He played a crucial role in helping to establish England’s revolutionary approach that has seen lift the World Cups in both white-ball formats.
Bobat and newly-appointed head coach Andy Flower have previously worked together with England. Bobat has led the identification, development and preparation of England’s extensive pool of players, across formats.
With RCB, he will oversee all talent recruitment and performance plans, and will aim to establish the cultural and high performance foundations for sustained success.
“I’m both excited and proud to be joining RCB as Director of Cricket. RCB is one of the most recognisable franchises in the world, with a renowned fan base. To serve them will be a huge honour. It’s important to acknowledge the work of both Mike Hesson and Sanjay Bangar, for the stability and consistency they provided over recent years,” Bobat said.
“I’m really looking forward to working closely with Andy Flower, somebody I know well, to take on the baton and deliver the success that RCB craves. When the time comes, I’ll leave the ECB with the heaviest of hearts. I’ll be forever grateful for all of the opportunities and support that I received over the years and will carry with me many special memories, shared achievements and friendships. Andy and I are relishing the challenges ahead, and we’re looking forward to helping Faf and the players to fulfil their potential,” he further added.
Talking about the appointment, Prathmesh Mishra, Chief Commercial Officer, Diageo India and Chairman of RCB, said, “Bobat has already proved what he can do in a similar role with England, and I believe, with the expertise and years of experience, he will guide RCB to newer horizons and excellence.”
Under the previous coaching staff of Director of Cricket Mike Hesson and batting coach Sanjay Bangar, RCB reached the play-offs in 2021, 2022 but missed out in 2023. Meanwhile, Flower was the coach of Lucknow Super Giants since it was introduced in 2022.