IPL 2018: Proven all-rounders who could have helped RCB's cause this season
No other team can hit sixes as easily as the Royal Challengers do. But when it comes to restricting the opposition within the first six overs of power-play and the last six overs of the innings, they struggle. The Bangalore franchise has always been the powerhouse of batting when it comes to the Indian Premier League and this season has been no exception. But when it comes to addressing their prime weakness- the death overs bowling, they have failed to find a perfect solution over the years.
After acquiring the services of all-rounders Chris Woakes, Colin de Grandhomme and Corey Anderson, Kohli would have hoped for a turnaround in the death-overs bowling. But the collective failure of those players have put the Royal Challengers in a spot of bother. With Anderson going for 58 runs against the Chennai Super Kings during RCB's crunch-game at Chinnaswamy stadium, questions arise whether they can defend their batsmen's contribution. Some proven all-rounders who went unsold at this year's auctions, could have served RCB better this season. Let us now look at those players.
#1 Moises Henriques
The Aussie all-rounder has played for five different IPL franchises so far- Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Henriques was a part of the Sunrisers squad that won the title in 2016 under David Warner.
Henriques is an ideal T20 specialist, having played for the Sydney Sixers since the beginning of the Big Bash and for several English county teams. He is an experienced campaigner when it comes to the IPL, having played 57 matches scoring 969 runs at a strike-rate of 128.17.
The Aussie has been equally good in his bowling, as he has 38 wickets to his name. He can contribute with the bat in the lower-middle order, as well as bowl well in the death overs, which remains to be the major headache for Kohli's men this season. Especially, his scorching toe-crushers and pace variations make him the ideal death-over specialist bowler.