Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Mike Hesson almost guessed Aaron Finch’s selling price in mock auction - Watch
In a video posted by the franchise on Twitter, both Hesson and head coach Simon Katich can be seen participating in a mock auction.
Royal Challengers Bangalore had a far more modest outing at this year’s IPL auction as compared to the previous years where they splurged money on a plethora of international stars. The effect of Director of Cricketing Operations, Mike Hesson, is clearly visible on the franchise now. RCB bought a total of 8 players in the auction and breached the 5 crore mark only once, going all out to buy South African all-rounder Chris Morris for 10 crore.
Their biggest and smartest buy was Australian limited overs captain and seasoned IPL hand Aaron Finch. RCB bough Finch for 4.4 crore after an intense bidding war with Kolkata Knight riders and guess what, they were prepared for this.
In a video posted by the franchise on Twitter, both Hesson and head coach Simon Katich can be seen participating in a mock auction. “Simon Katich and @CoachHesson had their planning spot on to get the Australian captain Aaron Finch at the #IPLAuction. We documented the mock auction to reveal a fascinating story,” RCB wrote on the social media website.
What is interesting is that even in the mock auction, Hesson wins the bid for Finch at 4 crore and says “it’s going to be something around that.” It is fascinating because in the actual auction RCB won the bid at 4.4 crore.
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It goes on to show why Hesson is considered one of the sharpest minds in the game currently. He has earlier had a successful stint at Kings XI Punjab and is known for propelling New Zealand to their maiden ICC World Cup final in 2015. It was under Hesson’s tutelage that the Kiwis became a supremely competitive outfit, giving some of the established nations in world cricket a run for their money.
It will be interesting to see how he teams up with captain fantastic Virat Kohli and whether he can help end RCB’s trophy drought.