King Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore has always been among the stalwart teams in every edition of the IPL. However, they haven’t converted their promising campaign into a much promising team performance as the elusive IPL title still eludes them after 13 consecutive seasons.
RCB team, over the years, has boasted some of the top talents world cricket has ever witnessed. There is no change in the story this time around. Last time around, they had the opportunity to shake off the 13 years title drought but flattered in the eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad to close a see-saw of a season. In a quest to start afresh, here is how the team could fare in IPL 2021.
The RCB Squad
Prior to the auction, RCB was the team to release the most number of players from their setup i.e. ten. Big names like Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali, etc. all were released ahead of the mini-auction. With enough purse remaining at the auction time, RCB invested in two International big guns in Glenn Maxwell (INR 14.25 Crores) from Australia and Kyle Jamieson (INR 15 Crores) of New Zealand.
Maxwell, a revelation in the first half of the 2014 edition, has often found himself in hot waters since then. The 2020 edition was dreadful for the Aussie as he couldn’t manage to hit a single six in the entire edition after playing 13 straight games and managed just over a hundred runs in the whole season. RCB team management has played a huge gamble by investing a hefty sum in acquiring the services of someone who has looked pale in the previous seasons. It would be interesting to see whether or not this gamble pays off. RCB opted for as many as eight players in the auction.
- Glenn Maxwell (Australia) – Rs 14.25 Cr
- Sachin Baby – ₹20 lakh
- Rajat Patidar – ₹20 lakh
- Mohammed Azharuddeen – ₹20 lakh
- Kyle Jamieson (New Zealand) – ₹15 crore
- Daniel Christian (Australia) – ₹4.8 crore
- Suyash Prabhudessai – ₹20 lakh
- KS Bharat – ₹20 lakh
They have hired the services of three overseas and five Indian talents in the auction held in Chennai on 11th February 2021.
Players to watch out
RCB is one such side that has always been dependent on their decorated batting lineup. Ab de Villiers and skipper Virat Kohli have always been their batting mainstays. Meanwhile, local talent Devdutt Padikkal has been in the form of his life in the domestic circuit. These three will be the core of their batting lineup while Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Mohammed Azharuddeen, and Kyle Jamieson will provide the much-needed firepower in the middle and lower-middle order.
Trading Daniel Sams from Delhi Capitals ahead of the auction could be a masterstroke too. The left-arm pacer is known for his lusty blows with the bat in the lower order and could fit in the vacated spot for the power hitters. Yuzvendra Chahal, who has been leading the bowling department of RCB for the last five years, will yet again pack a punch with talents like Navdeep Saini, Mohammad Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmad, Harshal Patel, Washington Sundar, and Adam Zampa forming a formidable bowling lineup.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Scheduled Matches For IPL 2021
With neutral venues being the cup of tea this season, the Royal Challengers Bangalore would be playing five games in Kolkata, four in Ahmedabad, three in Chennai, and two in Mumbai. Below is their full schedule,
Match 1: Royal Challengers Bangalore VS Mumbai Indians, April 9, Chennai, 7:30 PM
Match 2: Sunrisers Hyderabad VS Royal Challengers Bangalore, April 14, Chennai, 7:30 PM
Match 3: Royal Challengers Bangalore VS Kolkata Knight Riders, April 18, Chennai, 3:30 PM
Match 4: Rajasthan Royals VS Royal Challengers Bangalore, April 22, Mumbai, 7:30 PM
Match 5: Chennai Super Kings VS Royal Challengers Bangalore, April 25, Mumbai, 3:30 PM
Match 6: Royal Challengers Bangalore VS Delhi Capitals, April 27, Ahmedabad 7:30 PM
Match 7: Royal Challengers Bangalore VS Punjab Kings, April 30, Ahmedabad, 7:30 PM
Match 8: Kolkata Knight Riders VS Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 3, Ahmedabad, 7:30 PM
Match 9: Punjab Kings VS Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 6, Ahmedabad, 7:30 PM
Match 10: Royal Challengers Bangalore VS Sunrisers Hyderabad, May 9, Kolkata, 7:30 PM
Match 11: Royal Challengers Bangalore VS Delhi Capitals, Kolkata, May 14, 7:30 PM
Match 12: Rajasthan Royals VS Royal Challengers Bangalore, May 16, Kolkata, 3:30 PM
Match 13: Royal Challengers Bangalore VS Mumbai Indians, May 20, Kolkata, 3:30 PM
Match 14: Royal Challengers Bangalore VS Chennai Super Kings, May 23, Kolkata, 7:30 PM
RCB Expected Playing Eleven For The First Game Against MI
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Mohammed Azharuddeen
- Virat Kohli (C)
- Ab de Villiers
- Glenn Maxwell
- Daniel Christian/Daniel Sams
- Kyle Jamieson
- Washington Sundar
- Navdeep Saini
- Mohammad Siraj
- Yuzvendra Chahal
Complete RCB Squad For IPL 2021
Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Rajat Patidar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj, Dan Christian, Suyash Prabhudessai, KS Bharat, Navdeep Saini, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahamad, Harshal Patel (Traded-in), Finn Allen, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams (Traded-in), Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson
Time to wrap up: Alike previous years, the RCB squad looks intimidating, and it seems like they have got all their bases covered. They are known to flatter when it comes to execution, and this is something the team management would look to work upon in this season. With a squad like this, the Royal Challengers Bangalore definitely look good enough to make it to the top four of the competition.
