IPL 2018: 5 underrated players who can provide the X-factor to RCB
The Royal Challengers Bangalore have had a good squad in almost all the seasons of IPL so far, but for some reason, they have not managed to win the title yet. They have been very, very close to it a couple of times in the past, but somehow the silverware has never come their way. They would hope to break this barrier in the upcoming season and there is no reason why they can’t do it given the squad they picked in the auction.
The RCB squad on paper looks a star-studded line up in the presence of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock. While all eyes will be on those big boys, there are a few underrated players in there as well who might not be the biggest of the names in the cricket world just yet, but can provide the X-factor to the team.
Here are 5 such underrated players who may end up making key contributions for RCB through the course of IPL 2018:
#1 Pawan Negi
RCB retained Pawan Negi by using the Right to Match (RTM) card in the auction and it was not surprising at all considering how well Negi had performed for them last season. While the team was in absolute shambles in IPL 2017 losing games after games, Negi was one shining light as he was extremely consistent with the ball.
Negi, who features for Delhi in the Indian domestic circuit, is an accurate left arm spinner. He doesn’t spin the ball square, but has got a good arm ball in his armoury and his biggest strength is that he always nags around in the areas where the batsmen don’t like it. Very rarely does he give the batsmen any room to free their arms or any long hop to pounce upon.
And to go with his bowling potential, the 25-year old is a very handy lower order batsman as well. He is a small man, but he packs a punch and is capable of depositing the ball into the stands against both fast bowlers as well as the spinners.