How break due to Operation Sindoor helped RCB win IPL 2025? Coach Andy Flower reveals

Andy Flower was the head coach of RCB in IPL 2025.

On Tuesday, 3rd June, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 to steal their first-ever title in the tournament. RCB crushed PBKS by six runs in the final.

Following their first ever title triumph, RCB head coach Andy Flower has termed the break due to Operation Sindoor as one of the crucial factors behind the team’s success. On April 22, a Pakistan-based terror outfit attacked innocent tourists in the Pahalgam town in the Kashmir valley. 26 people were killed in the attack.

As a result, the Indian Armed Forces conducted air strikes in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) to attack the terror groups under Operation Sindoor. However, the move escalated border tensions between India and Pakistan in the northwestern regions.

Andy Flower explains how IPL 2025 suspension helped RCB

Due to border tensions between India and Pakistan, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended IPL 2025 with immediate effect on May 9. Later, the tournament was resumed on May 17. A clash between PBKS and DC in Dharamsala on May 8 was halted midway due to security reasons.

During the post-match press conference of IPL 2025 final, RCB coach Flower explained how the break due to Operation Sindoor helped RCB to win the title. He informed that the break helped key members like Rajat Patidar and Josh Hazlewood to recover from their injuries.

“Even this evening while we were celebrating, a couple of guys mentioned to me that the break gave Hazlewood time to recover, and crucially, it gave Rajat time to recover with his hand. But we still missed Tim David and Devdutt Padikkal from our initial squad. They were huge parts of our campaign,” the RCB head coach said.

Notably, Patidar had suffered a finger injury almost a week ahead of IPL 2025 suspension. He also played as an Impact Player due to injury in the last two matches of the league stage. Hazlewood returned to Australia for rehabilitation for a shoulder injury. He managed to return to the RCB camp ahead of the playoffs.

Flower also added that the IPL 2025 suspension gave a bit of breathing space to the team.

“For those who believe in fate, I’m sure they’ll find a story to tell. There were obviously bigger things at play than RCB winning the trophy at that time, and we all recognised that. But yes, it did give us a bit of breathing space. We were a little slow off the blocks before that,” he added.

Meanwhile, RCB piled up 191/9 in the final against PBKS in the first innings. Later, they restricted the opposition to 184/7 in the second innings. Virat Kohli top scored for RCB with 43 runs in the encounter. He also finished as the leading run-getter for the side with 657 runs in the season. Hazlewood finished as the leading wicket-taker for the team with 22 scalps.

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