All time Royal Challengers Bangalore XI
Royal Challengers Bangalore have been, without a shade of doubt, one of the most exciting teams to watch throughout the nine editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Although the Bengaluru-based franchise haven’t had much success to boast about, it is one of the original eight franchises in the tournament which had been runners-up in a couple of earlier editions (2009 and 2011).
Currently, led by Virat Kohli and coached by Daniel Vettori, the Royal Challengers Bangalore side haven’t had much of a success in the ninth edition of the IPL as well. The ‘Men in Red and Black’ currently occupy the sixth place in the IPL table with eight points in their kitty at the end of ten league matches.
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium-based franchise has always been a formidable side to compete with. Once decorated by the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, and Anil Kumble, RCB now boast of some world-class cricketers such as Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and AB de Villiers.
Here is an All-time Royal Challengers Bangalore XI:
Note: The team consists of seven Indian cricketers, four foreigners, and a 12th man.
1. Chris Gayle:
The 36-year-old Jamaican is one of the most explosive opening batsmen in the world of cricket. Having scored 3,006 runs in the 76 matches that he has played, Chris Gayle is the second highest run-getter in the history of the IPL franchise.
Gayle joined the Bengaluru-based franchise back in 2011 and since then, has gone on to score tons of runs for RCB at an impressive average of 46.96. Having said that, the Jamaican cricketer also boasts of a massive strike rate of 156.39 and an individual high score of a 66-ball unbeaten 175 against the now defunct Pune Warriors India.
Although better known for his batting exploits, Gayle is quite a handy part-time bowler as well to have in one’s team. He has gone on to take 11 wickets for Royal Challengers Bangalore with a career-best IPL bowling figure of 3 for 21.