IPL 2016: Will over-dependence on the Big-Four hurt RCB in the long run?
Royal Challengers Bangalore have always boasted of a flashy batting line up, and this season it is no different. If anything they have been further bolstered with the inclusion of Shane Watson. With the likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in their ranks, it is quite intriguing as to why they do not have even a single IPL trophy in their cabinet.
The answers were well evident in the game against Delhi Daredevils where a Quinton de Kock led charge breached the target of 191 with absolute ease, and once again RCB was left red faced due to their bowlers. The fact that they have a such a dominant top four will on many ocassions mask the thin bowling resources, but then being overly dependent on them is like inviting trouble and then not knowing how to get out of the corner.
The pitch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium
Their home ground, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, is a high scoring ground, and with a true pitch and very short boundaries it has become the graveyard for the bowlers. It is very easy to take the attention of your deficiencies when boundaries are flooding in from the batsmen, but this has been their template over their years and perhaps the biggest reason why they have not invested in quality bowlers.
There will then be this argument that their new recruits Mitchell Starc and Samuel Badree are injured and this has impeded them significantly. This is a viable defence, but when at the auction table there should always be backups, which clearly is not the case. What is very surprising is the team management's poor calculative skill and lack of foresight at the time of auction! The Indian bowling contingent of Harshal Patel, Sreenath Arvind and to some extent Yuzvendra Chahal have been sporadic with their performances and on a flat pitch they can come under real pressure when attacked early.
Surprise Selection
In a rather surprising selection, they picked South African David Wiese in place of Adam Milne. Now this was rather strange considering they already have am explosive batting order. Milne is fast and is a wicket-taker, hence in the absence of Mitchell Starc he should be in the team to pick up early wickets. Also, Milne can tonk the ball later on, and this only bolsters his inclusion into the team. Shane Watson has become the leader of the attack a statement that is not made too often.
The fact that Delhi Daredevils is not a team many would rate too highly as yet made such light work of the target is one sign that should not be ignored. And Virat Kohli will be the best person to know the fact that being over reliant on few players cannot win trophies. He himself was in such prime form during the recently concluded WorldT20, but despite his heroics, India could not qualify for the finals.
Virat Kohli and Daniel Vettori should be on this and they should make all concerted efforts to bridge the wide gap that exists within the team. It cannot be denied that T20s are won by batsmen, but if there are not enough bowlers to contain the opoosition everything will unravel very quickly. While it can be argued that a total of 191 on a Bangalore surface was a touch under par, but then a competent bowling attack could have made a match out of. Delhi won in a canter and this underlines the ineffectiveness of the bowling attack.
Over-dependence on the top four might stretch the team but then if the bowling remains as toothless as it has been, the title might still be elusive for RCB.