RCB's Flower confident team ready for new IPL campaign after last year's 'emotional' win

[p]RCB, who lifted their ‌maiden IPL title last year after a long trophy drought, return to their home ground at the M. ‌Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday for the tournament opener against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sunrisers-hyderabad/ltywUfPr/"]Sunrisers Hyderabad[/a].[/p][p]Flower was proud of ‌last year's triumph, but said it was followed by an emotional period after celebrations were ‌overshadowed by a stampede outside the stadium that claimed 11 lives.[/p][p][b]"It was very ‌satisfying professionally for everyone, of course, but a really emotional time for all sorts of reasons at the end of last season," Flower told reporters.[/b][/p][p][b]"It's another time, so it's time to move on from ‌that."[/b][/p][embed guid="171822b7-296f-49b7-b125-32eee173c3cb" url="https://x.com/RCBTweets/status/2037505331631415320" social-type="twitter" /][p]Flower said the team is conscious of the responsibility that ⁠comes with defending the title and representing ‌the franchise that draws massive support across the world.[/p][p][b]"When we go into these jobs and represent ​our owners and our franchise and each other, that always carries a responsibility and an accountability about how we conduct ourselves," Flower said.[/b][/p][p]RCB and local ​authorities have tightened crowd-management protocols after last year's incident and have put in place enhanced entry monitoring, phased dispersal plans and additional medical and security personnel for the opening ⁠match.[/p][p]The RCB players will wear ​black armbands on Saturday as a mark of respect, with 11 seats left vacant in memory of those who lost their lives last year.[/p][h2]Emotional anchor[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mumbai-indians/2eZPzJH2/"]India[/a] great [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kohli-virat/U7w3X0qp/"]Virat Kohli[/a] remains the biggest crowd puller and emotional ballast for the team. The 37-year-old spent extended time in ‌the nets, striking the ball cleanly and repeatedly clearing the ropes.[/p][p]Flower praised his fitness and mindset, describing the former captain as "super fit" and highly motivated despite managing his workload.[/p][embed guid="b402282c-1678-4980-8f30-7a147dbf7fcd" url="https://x.com/RCBTweets/status/2037518067710955894" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"He looks very lean, hungry and determined," Flower said.[/b][/p][p][b]"Mentally and emotionally, he's in a really good space, and watching him strike the ball in training, he looks right on top of his game."[/b][/p][p]RCB will also be banking on domestic talents under captain Rajat Patidar, while their opponents Hyderabad will look to their explosive batting group led by stand-in captain Ishan Kishan.[/p][p]Hyderabad have power hitters in Australia's Travis Head, India opener Abhishek Sharma, Kishan ‌and England all-rounder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/livingstone-liam/lSOz1l08/"]Liam Livingstone[/a], but will miss Australia pacer Pat Cummins, who is ​still building fitness.[/p][p][b]"The only challenge for him was the bowling loads. So once ‌he got the all-clear from Cricket Australia to build those bowling loads, it's obviously a bit of a painstaking process to get the loads up to where he feels confident and strong about bowling," Hyderabad coach Daniel Vettori said.[/b][/p][p][b]"Probably in the next 10 to 12 days (we will know) when he can return to play."[/b][/p][p]Hyderabad ⁠had a lively nets session ahead of ⁠the opener, with Kishan, Head and ‌Sharma striking balls sharply to the boundary during batting practice.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/cricket/royal-challengers-bengaluru-ObLbexsS/sunrisers-hyderabad-ltywUfPr/?mid=xWDjhHsC"]Follow the IPL opener with Flashscore.[/a][/p]