The Royal Challengers Bangalore will be under all sorts of pressure this season because of the success of their counterparts in the just concluded WPL. It has been 16 years since the inception of the IPL but RCB have never won the title even once though they reached the final on three occasions. This is the biggest mystery of the IPL because of the presence of powerful hitters in the ranks of RCB. Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers alongwith Maxwell and du Plessis over the last couple of years. Yet, RCB never tasted success. Now, with the triumph of the women, the men will be under greater pressure. It may lead to enhanced performance or it may drag them down even further. Only time will tell. Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL Preview.
After a run of 3 successive playoff appearances, RCB were relegated in the group stage last year when they ran into a Shubman Gill blitzkrieg at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. A run of seven wins and seven losses wasn’t that great to warrant a place in the finals. Yet, hope persisted among the RCB fans that was finally extinguished by that assault by Gill.
Personnel changes
RCB have ringed changes both within the squad and among the support staff. Andy Flower, the controversial former England coach, will be the head coach whereas Mo Bobat has taken over as the Director of Cricket. Andy Flower as we all know is a no-nonsense coach. As a side note, Kevin Pietersen never liked him as a coach and he was always at loggerheads with him. Nevertheless, he will probably be the same rigid and tough coach with his new franchise as well. How the most experienced players like Kohli, Maxwell and Du Plessis will take to him, remains to be seen.
Among the players, the key additions are Cameroon Green, Alzarri Joseph and Lockie Ferguson. For some reason, RCB did not think it fit to retain Hazaranga who was quite successful in the game he played. Now, they are left with pace bowlers and the lack of genuine spin bowlers might come back to bite them. Perhaps, they chose these bowlers keeping in mind the games in Bangalore where the pitch is an absolute nightmare for any bowler, especially spinners. It is time the curator at Bangalore prepares a pitch that will help the RCB’s faster bowlers rather than being a pure delight for the batsmen.
Players to watch out for
Again the same suspects. Virat Kohli, du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. However, the greenhorse could be Cameroon Green. He is coming off of a successful series in New Zealand where he got his highest Test score so far. He could also bowl 4 overs which means that the allrounder or even the spot of a specialist bowler, could be filled by him. Green didn’t perform that well for Mumbai Indians last year but he has got a bit more experience than the last outing. Faf and Maxwell are certain to feature in all the games which leaves just 2 spots for foreign players. Will Green be the 3rd one?
As for Kohli, now that the women have opened the RCB account, he will be raring to make a double with the men. He has had a wonderful break of about 2 months and must be completely rejuvenated. His combination at the top with Faf will be rollicking. However, once the powerplay is over, they slow down considerably. With the inclusion of Green and the return of Rajat Patidar, RCB will have to aim for 20 runs more than the par score in every game. It will also give their underrated bowlers a chance to defend.
Maxwell is a blow-hot, blow-cold type of player. If it is his day, he can make a mincemeat of any attack. On other days, even an ordinary attack will be a handful for him. How is Faf going to adjust after becoming a T20 specialist will be keenly seen.
Availability of players
Everyone is available throughout the tournament. There was a slight doubt regarding Green’s availability for the initial few games but Cricket Australia approved for him to travel to India without playing in the Sheffield Shield final.
Probable playing eleven, atleast for the initial games
Faf, Kohli, Patidar, Maxwell, Green, Lomror, Karthik, Topley, Siraj, Akash and any spinner.
Kohli’s slot
Kohli was successful as an opener in the last edition. It makes sense for him to continue in that position. Ofcourse there isn’t any specialist opener in the squad. So Kohli will continue. There is a suggestion of making Green open the innings. He has done that for Australia in white-ball cricket. It will allow Kohli to move down to his favourite spot but I think Andy Flower must resist that idea. Kohli is better suited at the top of the order.
Wrapping up Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL Preview
RCB’s fans have had enough. They have been let down repeatedly over the last 16 years. Now that the fans have seen the women succeed, they will be hoping that this year turns out to be good for the men too. If not for anyone, RCB’s players owe their fans one title after all these years.
Other RCB blogs
https://icricketcritique.com/rcbs-huge-virat-kohli-problem/
https://icricketcritique.com/rcbs-costly-purchase-and-other-series/
https://icricketcritique.com/review-of-royal-challengers-bangalore-in-ipl-2022/
https://icricketcritique.com/rcb-the-eternal-bridesmaid/
https://icricketcritique.com/rcb-and-their-nemesis-csk/
https://icricketcritique.com/kohli-livid-at-rcbs-yet-another-loss/
https://icricketcritique.com/rcb-ipl-2023-review/