IPL 2018: It's now or never for RCB
The Royal Challengers Bangalore have always been one of the most exciting teams to watch in the IPL. The team has always looked fantastic on paper and one often wonders as to how they are yet to win the IPL title. RCB has made three appearances in the finals and emerged second best on as many occasions. Going into season 11 of this lucrative T20 tournament, let us explore why RCB has the best chance yet, to win the trophy this year.
The Bengaluru franchise has often been let down by their bowling in pressure situations. They have always been a batting heavy unit with world class batsmen who smash the ball to all parts of the ground. They haven't had many match winning bowlers in their ranks over the years. It is the bowlers who win you matches in the shortest format of the game and this is one of the reasons as to why they haven't won the title yet.
This year, the RCB think tank smartly chose to invest in quality players rather than to splurge money on the big names like they usually do. They made the bold decision of not retaining Chris Gayle, who is not in his prime anymore. The team management left a lot of people surprised by retaining youngster Sarfaraz Khan over the experienced KL Rahul. The owners went into the player auction with a different mindset this year and focused on getting value for money. It is clear that the Royal Challengers Bangalore have realized they need to be doing something different from usual, in order to reverse the fortunes of the team.
In the auction, RCB invested in quality overseas batsmen like Quinton De Cock and Brendon Mccullum. They made it a point to focus more on bowling options in order to make the team as balanced as possible. The owners spent the big bucks to buy proven bowling all rounders like Chris Woakes and Colin De Grandhomme. Moeen Ali at a bargain price of 1.70 crores could prove to be a very smart buy as he will stabilize the middle order and is equally adept at both facets of the game. New Zealand quick Tim Southee will also be playing for RCB this year. The hard-hitting Corey Anderson was roped in as a replacement for the injured Nathan Coulter Nile. Kohli has the pleasant problem of plenty when it comes to picking three overseas players along with AB De Villers.
The team boasts a plethora of Indian fast bowling options in the form of Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Aniket Choudhary, Kulwant Khejroliya and Mohammed Siraj. The Indian spin twins Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar will have a huge role to play if RCB are to succeed this year. The RCB bowling attack looks stronger than ever!
Captain Virat Kohli will be itching to get his hands on the trophy that has eluded him for ten years. Amidst speculation that Rohit Sharma should captain India in the T20 format of the game, Virat will be looking to lead RCB to the title and prove to everyone that he has it in him to win games consistently, even in the shortest format of the game.
The team management has roped in Gary Kirsten, Andrew McDonald, and Ashish Nehra to bolster the think tank and provide a fresh perspective. The new look RCB will be a force to reckon with in the IPL this year!