- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The eleventh season of the Indian Premier League will start on the seventh of April. The return of the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals has cricket fans relishing a top-class tournament.
While every franchise has a much-changed squad, this biggest T20 tournament in the world is set to thrill the fans.
Through this series of articles, I will analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of every team in IPL 11.
In Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers, Royal Challengers Bangalore retained two of the best batsmen in the world. They came into the auction with a good sum. For this IPL, RCB have assembled one of their strongest squads.
They have got nearly every base covered for the tournament. They have a squad to contest for the trophy. Like always, the majority of their hopes lie with Kohli and De Villiers.
No boundary should be small in front of RCB’s blitzkrieg. Bangalore had an IPL to forget last season when they finished last on the points table. Their fans and management will hope that there is no repeat of last IPL.
Franchise Profile
Captain: Virat Kohli
Coach: Daniel Vettori
Squad: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Woakes, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Brendon McCullum, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Quinton De Kock, Mohammed Siraj, Corey Anderson, Colin De Grandhomme, M. Ashwin, Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali, Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, Pawan Negi, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Aniket Choudhary, Pavan Deshpande, Aniruddha Ashok Joshi.
Likely playing XI: Brendon McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Colin De Grandehomme, Chris Woakes, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Key players: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal
1) Strong batting line-up
Like every season, the Royal Challengers have assembled an enviable batting side. The prospect of having McCullum or De Kock, Kohli and De Villiers in their top four is mouth-watering. It will be a task cut out for any opposition bowling attack to contain RCB.
No score looks tough to reach and no target looks impossible to conquer for this batting line-up.
Players like Khan, De Grandehomme and Woakes add value in the middle order. Sundar can be a handy batsman as well. RCB’s batting has the opportunity to show last season was a one-off debacle.
Especially on the Chinnaswamy Stadium with smaller boundaries, RCB can often offer a run feast.
2) A deep squad
One important aspect of RCB’s squad this season is the depth. RCB, like Sunrisers Hyderabad, appear to have a cover for every spot.
De Kock or McCullum, Patel or Vohra, Sarfaraz, Mandeep or both, De Grandehomme, Anderson or Moeen, Woakes or Southee, Murugan and Negi to cover Sundar and Chahal, Choudhary or Saini or Siraj are happy headaches for Daniel Vettori.
Bangalore have spent their money wisely to assemble a second competitive XI for their playing side. Squad depth can be the difference maker in a daunting tournament such as the IPL.
3) Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers
Every side in the world will want Kohli and De Villiers, such is their influence that they single-handily win matches.
Off these two, De Villiers comes in this tournament after good Test series against India and Australia. Regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world, he boasts impressive numbers over this tournament’s history. He has mustered around 3500 runs at a strike rate of just over 148 with three centuries so far.
Virat Kohli is the best limited overs batsman in the world, such is his influence that his underperformance last season was one of the reasons for RCB’s poor IPL.
The most expensive player of the tournament at around $3.4 million, Kohli has been imperious this year. He has already scored three centuries in six innings of India’s ODI series against South Africa.
Virat Kohli’s limited overs form is formidable. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
He has scored just over 4400 runs at an average of just under 38 in IPL’s history. Stunningly, around 1800 among them have come in last three seasons, with 973 in 2016 alone!
If Kohli and De Villiers play to their potential, RCB may be impossible to stop in this IPL.
1) Prospects of a weak middle order
If the middle order after De Villiers gets exposed, it looks relatively weak on paper. Four of Sarfaraz, Mandeep, Anderson, Woakes, Moeen, De Grandehomme and Sundar are likely to occupy spots after Kohli and De Villiers.
While they are talented, there does not seem a recognised batsman among these players. If Bangalore’s star batsmen get out for cheap, they may get into trouble for their relatively brittle batsmen in the middle.
RCB fans will keep their fingers crossed and hope that superstars in their top order do most of the batting this season.
2) No Indian all-rounder
Over the seasons, all-rounders have been key for success in the IPL. Royal Challengers have Woakes, Anderson, Moeen and De Grandehomme as all-rounders. While they may be experienced and talented, all of them are from overseas. RCB do not have an Indian all-rounder.
In a seven-Indian four-overseas format, it becomes a limitation as Royal Challengers will need to devote one or two slots to all-rounders to balance their side. 18-year-old Washington Sundar appears to be the only Indian who can play the role of an all-rounder.
It remains to be seen how they balance their overseas quota to adjust all-rounder requirements in their side.
3) No death bowlers
Bowling has always been an Achilles heel for RCB. This season, they have acquired better bowling attack than earlier seasons. However, they still seem light on death bowling.
Chris Woakes looks the only bowler who can be effective towards the end of innings. All among Yadav, Chahal, Siraj and Sundar have struggled to bowl the death overs.
It will be useless if RCB can’t contain their opposition after getting a hefty total or leak runs in death overs to concede a steep target. Their bowlers need to step up if RCB must keep their death overs tight.
1) Sarfaraz Khan
Eyebrows were raised when RCB retained Sarfaraz before the auction for around $600,000. This talented youngster from Mumbai made his domestic debut in 2014. The following season, at 18, he got his IPL contract with Bangalore.
While he missed last season, Sarfaraz has scored at a strike rate of 173.52 in 18 innings for the franchise so far.
This season, Sarfaraz is likely to bat up the order at number five and may have the responsibility to anchor the innings as well. This tournament may be where Sarfaraz matures as a batsman.
Alongside this, this IPL may give an opportunity to youngsters like Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Anukul Roy. If Sarfaraz performs well, this tournament can strengthen his case for a future spot in Indian line-up.
[latest_videos_strip category=”cricket” name=”Cricket”]
2) Mohammad Siraj
Siraj’s rise in the game has been remarkable. The young seamer made his first-class debut in 2015 for Hyderabad. After having very impressive numbers in domestic cricket, Siraj was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for around $520,000. He took ten wickets in six matches for the Hyderabad franchise.
For this IPL, Siraj will represent the Royal Challengers Bangalore, as he got another contract of $520,000 during the auction. He made his India debut in the T20 series against New Zealand. He was also a member of India’s Nidahas trophy-winning squad.
However, there is a vast difference between his domestic performances and while playing for India. This can be a make or break IPL for Siraj. A good tournament can keep him in contention of India’s T20 side. However, a weak IPL can take him further down in pecking order.
3) Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar’s career graph has always been upwards. After featuring for India in the 2016 under-19 World Cup, Sundar got his first IPL contract in 2017. He replaced Ravichandran Ashwin at Rising Pune Supergiants. He performed well for the Steve Smith-led side, finishing with eight wickets in 12 innings.
He was one of the most economical bowlers of the last edition as he finished with an economy rate of 6.17. Since then, Sundar has made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Mohali. He also played every match in the Nidahas trophy.
Other domestic T20 tournaments in India have shown that Sundar can also bat handily. This IPL can be where Sundar develops himself as a bowling all-rounder. A good IPL can make his case stronger as India’s third choice spinner in limited overs cricket after Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
1) No recognised finisher In their likeliest XI, Sarfaraz Khan will occupy the number five role with Colin de Grandehomme and Chris Woakes to follow. With Sarfaraz playing as an anchor, RCB appear short on finishers.
De Grandehomme has developed leaps and bounds over last year and Woakes is a handy batsman as well. However, these two are not established T20 finishers yet. A T20 match is often decided on the runs added in the final six overs of an innings.
It can cause headaches if the team can’t finish their innings off strongly.
2) Too many cooks spoil the soup
Their deep squad, discussed as their strength, can threaten to derail their campaign. As discussed in my Kolkata Knight Rider’s SWOT analysis, a settled line-up is their strength.
For RCB, they should refrain from getting lost in too many options. IPL’s earlier winners have made sure they keep their core intact over the season. While choosing their playing XI, RCB should keep in mind possible permutations and combinations.
Once such a combination is found, they should not change their team around. Royal Challengers Bangalore have assembled a strong squad which should reach the playoffs. If they can’t maintain stability in their side, this season can end in frustration as well.
3) Fewer options in bowling
Have a look at RCB’s possible XI and there is a trend. There are only six players who can bowl.
Bowling has never been RCB’s strength. While they have a better bowling attack than earlier seasons, they still look short on bowlers.
It’s one thing to have six quality bowling options and another when they are decent or good. It’s always advisable if a captain has multiple options he can bowl. Virat Kohli doesn’t appear to have that liberty. If RCB’s main bowlers struggle this tournament, the team is likely to find itself short of options this season.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.