Royal Challengers Bangalore, also known as RCB, is the Bangalore based cricket franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team is owned by United Spirits Limited, a Diageo Group company. The team had many ups and downs in the tournament, RCB rose from a bottom-two finish in 2008 to finish as runners up in 2009 and semi-finalists in 2010. The team had 3 good seasons back-to-back when they made it to the final in 2011. Led by Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore yet again reached the final in 2016. They then had 3 back to back poor seasons (2017-2019) which were followed by a couple of decent seasons by making it to the playoffs in the previous 2 editions. RCB has adopted the philosophy #PlayBold which resonates both on and off the field - ‘Defeats don’t defeat us, the Challenger Spirit keeps us alive’. Normally, they play their home games at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Players Retained:-
RCB retained just 3 players with each of them possessing different skills and roles. The batting star and the face of RCB, Virat Kohli was retained for INR 15 Crore, experienced X-Factor all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for INR 11 Crore and a fast bowler who has the skills of bowling in both powerplay and as well as death overs in Mohammed Siraj for INR 7 Crore. They bought 19 more players in the auction to build their squad strength to 22 players.
RCB Squad:-
Total Players Bought By Royal Challengers Bangalore:- 22
Indian Players:- 14
Overseas Players:- 8
Batters:-
1) Virat Kohli (INR 15 Crore)
2) Faf Du Plessis (INR 7 Crore)
3) Suyash Prabhudessai (INR 30 Lakh)
Wicket Keepers:-
1) Dinesh Karthik (INR 5.5 Crore)
2) Anuj Rawat (INR 3.4 Crore)
3) Finn Allen (INR 80 Lakh)
4) Luvnith Sisodia (INR 20 Lakh)
All Rounders:-
1) Glenn Maxwell (INR 11 Crore)
2) Wanindu Hasaranga (INR 10.75 Crore)
3) Harshal Patel (INR 10.75 Crore)
4) Shahbaz Ahmed (INR 2.4 Crore)
5) David Willey (INR 2 Crore)
6) Sherfane Rutherford (INR 1 Crore)
7) Mahipal Lomror (INR 80 Lakh)
8) Karn Sharma (INR 50 Lakh)
9) Aneeshwar Gautam (INR 20 Lakh)
Bowlers:-
1) Josh Hazlewood (INR 7.75 Crore)
2) Mohammed Siraj (INR 7 Crore)
3) Jason Behendroof (INR 75 Lakh)
4) Siddarth Kaul (INR 75 Lakh)
5) Chama Milind (INR 25 Lakh)
6) Akash Deep (INR 20 Lakh)
New Era For RCB:-
The RCB team will look completely different this year as they will miss the services of veteran backbone of the RCB, i.e., AB De Villiers. Last year during the 2nd stage of the IPL which was held in UAE, Virat Kohli made a shocking decision which was of stepping down as the RCB captain. Therefore, RCB will have a new face as captain after 9 seasons. RCB has announced the appointment of Faf Du Plessis as captain during an event named "RCB Unbox" which was on the 12th of March in Bengaluru. Though Faf Du Plessis has never captained an IPL side and it will be a new role and a challenge for him but he is a proven experienced leader in international cricket, and has good stats as a batsmen while being the captain. He has a good team win percentage as well as a skipper, which means captaincy gets the best out of Faf Du Plessis.
RCB Playing 11:-
1)Faf Du Plessis (C)
2) Anuj Rawat
3) Virat Kohli
4) Glenn Maxwell
5) Mahipal Lomror
6) Dinesh Karthik (Wk)
7) Wanindu Hasaranga
8) Shahbaz Ahmed
9) Harshal Patel
10) Josh Hazlewood
11) Mohammed Siraj
(Note:- Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, Jason Behrendorff are not available for the first 3 games)
SWOT Analysis
Strengths:- The biggest strength of RCB is the number of options they have in the all-rounder department. Experienced batters like Virat, Maxwell and Karthik can win matches from any kind of situation as they can handle pressure really well. The pace trio of Hazlewood, Siraj and Harshal are in terrific form and the variety they provide in the bowling differs from being the mixture of raw pace to medium pace and slow pace respectively which is considered a good combination in T20 cricket. It is arguably one of the best pace attacks in IPL this season.
Weakness:- Batters Like Faf, Virat and DK have been struggling against the spinners off late as they are struggling to score boundaries, which therefore puts pressure on the youngsters especially Mahipal Lomror who will play a key role as the spin basher and the only left handed batsmen in the RCB middle order, which means that they are heavily dependent and relying on Anuj Rawat at top and Mahipal Lomror at the middle order to perform well and have a decent season.
Opportunities:- It is a great opportunity for youngsters like Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror and Shahbaz Ahmed to showcase their talent. If Siraj has a phenomenal season, then he may be considered for the T20 World Cup 2022 which is set to be played in Australia where Siraj had performed brilliantly in the red ball format. If Virat Kohli has a good season, then he can carry that form and momentum in international cricket as well which would not only help him but will be of immense benefit for Indian Cricket as well.
Threats:- As the Aussie boys aren't available for the first 3 matches, it means that RCB can't play with their best playing 11 on the field which could affect the team in points table in the long run. As they will start in the first three matches without their big overseas guns, there is a high chance and a risk of not starting the season well, and if that happens then the rest of the season could go completely downhill.
Predictions:-
This time RCB has a quality bowling attack as compared to the previous seasons. If it is utilized well by the newly appointed captain Faf Du Plessis, then RCB can do wonders this season. If RCB kick off their season well in the initial 5 games, and if their batsmen stay in great form with their bowlers supporting them equally, then they stand a great chance at their maiden title. If everything clicks for them, then they have all the potential and capability to finish easily in the top 4, but if they fail to even in any one of the departments then they may finish as a mid-table team (5-7th position in points table) and that's what our prediction is for them.
