IPL 2018: 5 players from Karnataka who could have helped solve RCB's problems
During the recent years in IPL, Karnataka players have performed consistently and have had a massive impact on their teams' performances. During the auction, the players from the southern state were in high demand and made headlines for being picked at exorbitant prices. KL Rahul and Manish Pandey were one of the most sought Indian players. They were grabbed by Punjab and Delhi respectively for a whopping ₹ 11 crores each.
It is sad to note that in the current playing XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore don't have a single player from Karnataka. The Red Army has had a poor start to their IPL campaign and has just registered wins against Punjab and Delhi while losing their other 3 matches. Those two wins have been majorly possible due to individual performances of Umesh Yadav and AB de Villers.
The Bangalore side has faced two major issues while selecting their team. One is the opening combination and the other is the finisher's role. Even the lower middle order of RCB looks a bit fragile with the exception of Mandeep Singh. A lot of players from Karnataka have been successful at these positions for other franchises.
Here's a look at the players who would have been a perfect fit in the Bangalore squad.
#5 Krishnappa Gowtham
The 29-year-old cricketer from Bangalore is one of the leading spinners for Karnataka. Also, he is known to be a dangerous lower order batsman. Both of these qualities make him an ideal fit for T20 cricket. He was swooped by Rajasthan for a whopping sum of ₹ 6.5 crores. In the recent match for Royals, he justified his price tag and played a match-winning knock of 31 off just 11 balls.
In this season, RCB's spinners have gone for plenty of runs. Sundar has disappointed with his inconsistent performances. In his first match for RCB, he went for 48 runs and was one of the major reasons why The Red Army lost against KKR.
K. Gowtham would have been a good substitute for Sundar as the right-arm off break bowler. He has more experience and also would have given more depth to the RCB's weak lower order. Looking at Gowtham's recent blitzkrieg, RCB would feel that they missed a trick by not picking him at the auctions.